


To Boldly Go

by CharDee_MacDennis



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Angst and Humor, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Romance, new aliens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-28 06:47:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 25,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10078007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharDee_MacDennis/pseuds/CharDee_MacDennis
Summary: The Enterprise is well into her 5 year mission, and the crew finds themselves captured by an unknown alien race. Things are not what they initially seem, and the challenges of the situation cause Spock to reevaluate how he feels about Nurse Chapel.





	1. Where No One Has Gone Before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own or profit from these incredible characters. This is my first Spock/Chapel story. I do not have a beta so any mistakes are mine. Reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

"Captain's log, Stardate 2268.06. We are continuing our exploration, and today we will again venture into space that is yet unexplored by the Federation. Ship and crew have been functioning well, and we can only hope that new life forms that we encounter, if any, will be peaceful."

"Captain, we have crossed the threshold. We are now in space that is unexplored by the Federation," Chekov said.

"Very good, Mr. Chekov. Mr. Sulu, continue at full impulse power."

"Aye, sir."

"Mr. Spock, begin scanning."

They cruised in peace for a few hours, and cataloged the environment until Spock noticed an anomaly.

"Fascinating," Spock said, and Captain Kirk walked over to him.

"What is, Spock?"

"I'm reading an incredibly large plasma radiation surge, bearing one, zero, seven, mark six."

"On screen."

They pulled up the view screen and stared into what looked like empty space. "There is nothing there, sir," Chekov replied.

"Captain, the plasma signature is similar to the plasma expelled by Federation ships, however this particular signal is unfamiliar," Spock stated.

"Maybe a cloaked Bird of Prey?" Jim asked.

"Negative, Captain," Spock replied, "Klingon Birds of Prey and Romulan Warbirds have distinct plasma signatures. This does not match. The amount of plasma that I'm detecting far exceeds that of any known vessel."

"Uhura, transmit universal message of peace in all known languages, on all channels."

"Aye, sir."

"Mr. Sulu, slow to one quarter impulse power."

"Aye, sir. One quarter impulse," Sulu replied.

"Mr. Chekov, raise shields until we know what we're dealing with."

"Shields up, Captain."

Captain Kirk squinted at the viewer, "I still don't see anything."

Suddenly, the Enterprise started shaking. "Mr. Spock, what's happening?" asked the Captain.

"It seems as though we are being scanned by an unknown source, bearing one, zero, seven, mark six. The same bearing as the plasma signature."

"Full stop, Mr. Sulu."

"Aye, sir. Full stop."

"Uhura, are you getting any response to the peace message?"

"Negative, sir. No response on any channel."

The shaking stopped as abruptly as it began.

"Report!" Captain Kirk called to his team.

"No damage to our systems, shields still at maximum, Captain," Chekov reported.

"Mr. Spock?" Kirk called.

Before Spock could reply, a very large ship of unknown origins decloaked in front of them, and the crew stared at the view screen in awe. The Enterprise was small compared to this ship. A beam of light flashed from the ship, directed at the Enterprise. The ship began to shake again, and slowly began moving forward.

"Red alert! Mr. Spock, what's happening?" Kirk called.

"We appear to be caught in some kind of tractor beam."

"Sulu, full reverse!" Kirk cried.

"The ship is not responding, Captain!"

"Set our bearing to three, two, six mark seven! Warp speed! Now, Mr. Sulu!"

"We're still caught, sir!" Sulu called.

"Uhura, contact Starfleet!" Kirk ordered; he could feel his heart beginning to race.

"Captain, the tractor beam seems to be jamming our signal!" Uhura replied.

"Keep trying, Lieutenant!"

"Aye, sir!"

"Should we fire to try and break free, Captain?" Chekov asked.

"Negative, Mr. Chekov. Look at the size of it. We'd be throwing pebbles at an armored tank. Come in, Mr. Scott!"

"Scotty here, sir!"

"Is there any way to boost our power and get us out of this tractor beam?"

"I can try sir, but she has a tight hold on us. Too much force will tear us apart."

"Give it all you've got, Scotty!"

"Aye, sir!"

The crew of the Enterprise waited in tense silence as Scotty worked in engineering to break them free. After a moment, Dr. McCoy walked onto the bridge.

"Does that thing have a hold of us?!"

"Scotty's working on it, Bones."

"Well tell him to work faster, damn it!"

"Mr. Scott!" Kirk called, hoping they'd break free.

"I'm sorry, Captain," Scotty said over the intercom, "she's too strong. I cannot break us free."

"Damn…" He replied, and then one of the massive doors on the other ship opened to pull them inside.

Kirk stood and straightened his uniform, the desperation on his face giving way to determination. "Well, ladies and gentlemen… Get ready to boldly go where no one has gone before."


	2. They Are In My Head

The Enterprise was pulled into the massive ship, and they stared in awe at the view screen. The inside was brightly lit, and they were pulled into what looked like a docking station, with many other smaller alien craft surrounding them, in various stages of assembly and repair. Finally they were parked at one of the docks, and the crew waited anxiously for orders. There was no sign of any life, just the other ships.

"Report," Kirk snapped.

"All systems functional, shields still at maximum, Captain."

"I'm still not getting through to Starfleet, sir,' Uhura updated him.

"Take us down to yellow alert. Mr. Spock, see if you can scan for life forms. These ships didn't build themselves, so they've got to be here somewhere."

Spock didn't answer, and Captain Kirk looked over to see that he was at his station, holding his head in his hands.

Kirk and Dr. McCoy rushed over to him. "Spock, what's wrong?" Kirk asked as Dr. McCoy began waving his medical scanner over him.

Spock gasped, still clutching his head, "A moment please, Captain."

"Bones?" Jim asked as the doctor finished scanning.

"I can't tell, Jim. All of his readings are normal, apart from slightly elevated blood pressure."

"Captain," Spock rasped, still clutching his head, "I… I cannot… Aaahhh!" he cried out in pain dropped from his chair and onto his knees.

"We've got to get him to sickbay, Jim! Come on, help me!" Bones said. They each took an arm and rushed him off of the bridge.

"Mr. Sulu, you have the conn! Keep the shields up!" Kirk yelled as they rushed Spock out.

"Aye, Captain!"

When they got to sickbay, they laid him down and Jim had to hold him, as he was still holding his head and writhing in pain.

"Nurse Chapel, I need a 6% hydrocortiline spray, stat!" Bones called. She quickly prepared the hypospray and handed it to him. He quickly injected Spock and waited to see if it would have any effect. Spock continued to writhe and groan in pain. "I don't understand it, I gave him enough hydrocortiline to knock a migraine out of a Talosian. It should be working by now."

"Ugh, make them stop!" Spock cried, "You must make them stop!"

"Who, Spock? Make who stop? What are they doing to you?"

"They are in my head, Captain," Spock rasped, "They are trying to steal my thoughts."

"Who?" Jim asked again.

"I do not know. I… I cannot resist them for much longer…" Spock cried out in pain again, and the Captain, Dr. McCoy and Nurse Chapel looked on, horrified, as tears began rolling out of the corners of his eyes. None have them had ever seen Spock in so much pain that he'd been reduced to tears.

"They are trying to find a way to lower our shields without damaging the ship. There are many, eight hundred and two... Doctor! You must sedate me! If I am unconscious they can get nothing from my mind! I cannot resist them for much longer!"

"Nurse Chapel, 10ccs of somnovazine," Bones said.

"Doctor," Spock rasped, "you must find a way to suppress my telepathic ability. It seems that they cannot effect beings who do not have telepathic abilities. I am the only telepathic being on the ship, which is why they are targeting my mind. Until you find a way to block my telepathy, you must keep me unconscious."

Nurse Chapel handed him the hypospray, and before Dr. McCoy was able to inject it, Spock said, "Doctor! If you do develop something to suppress my telepathy, I may be… different... when I awake. Aaahhh! Vulcans in the past who have taken mind altering substances have be known to act… illogically. Ah! Sedate me, now! I cannot keep them out!"

Bones quickly administered the spray, and after a minute, Spock finally dropped his hands away from his head and slipped into unconsciousness.

"Jesus, Bones…" Kirk said, looking traumatized by what his friend had gone through, "I've got to get back to the bridge."

Nurse Chapel came back over to the bedside and used a tissue to gently wipe the tears from Spock's face.

"He'll be alright, Christine," Bones comforted her, "Come on, help me get him undressed and set up an IV drip to keep him hydrated. Then we've got homework to do. It figures that Dr. M'Benga is away at that conference. The one time we need a Vulcan specialist..."

Captain Kirk stepped back onto the bridge, "Report, Mr. Sulu."

"It seems we have company, Captain," Sulu replied.

Kirk looked at the view screen and saw several small, unidentified humanoid looking creatures, each about 4 feet tall. He could not see their features, however, as they were all wearing what looked like primitive style space suits and helmets. They were gathered around the ship on a platform, and appeared to be scanning it.

"Spock said they were trying to figure out how to penetrate the shields without damaging the ship. Mr. Chekov, were you able to determine how many life signs are aboard the alien vessel?

No, sir. Zey seem to hawe a shield that is blocking our instrument readings. Ze only life we're detecting are ze eight outside of ze ship."

"How is Mr. Spock?" Uhura asked.

"He's sedated. Apparently, these... creatures are telepaths. Mr. Spock is the only only person on the ship with telepathic abilities, so they targeted him to access information about the ship. He resisted them, which I guess is why he was in so much pain. Bones is trying to figure out a way to temporarily block his telepathy."

"So, what happens now, Captain?" Chekov asked.

"Now? We wait. I need to talk to Spock before we do anything else. Keep the shields up. Uhura, continue to broadcast universal peace messages, and keep trying to contact Starfleet, or any ship that may be in range to hear us."

"Aye, sir."

Kirk walked over to the com system and pressed a button. "Mr. Scott?"

"Scotty here, sir."

We have visitors outside of the ship that seem to be scanning us and looking for a way in. Shields are holding for now, but I'm worried that these little guys might get crafty."

"Well, I suppose it may be possible to rig up a temporary force field just inside the main doors. That way, even if they get the doors open they won't get far."

"How long, Mr. Scott?"

"Three hours, sir, but I understand that time is precious, so I'll do it for ya in one."

Kirk smiled, "I appreciate that, Scotty, get to it."

"Aye, sir."

Kirk pushed another button on the com system, "Lieutenant Commander Giotto?"

"Giotto here, sir."

There are… creatures scanning the Enterprise as we speak looking for a way in. Scotty and his engineering team are working on an extra force field inside the main doors. I want you to post security teams at every access point, and assign extra men to guard the main doors. All access doors are to remain closed. The shields are still up, but if they do go down, make sure nobody gets in or out."

"Understood, Captain."

"I'm going back to sickbay. If those things start getting aggressive with the ship, go to red alert. Sulu, you have the conn."

"Aye, sir."


	3. Spock's Brain

Kirk got back to sickbay right after Nurse Chapel finished changing Spock into sickbay pajamas and was pulling the blanket back over him. She tucked him in and ran her hand through his already messy hair.

"He's going to be OK," he assured her as he walked by. He went into Dr. McCoy's office, and saw him looking through several books of Vulcan anatomy and taking notes.

"I don't get it, Bones," he said, taking a seat across from him, "I thought Vulcans only had touch telepathy. They weren't touching him, so how were they able to get into his head?"

"Spock's brain is an interesting study," Bones replied, not looking up from his work, "He's half human but his anatomy is almost entirely Vulcan. The Vulcan brain is similar to a human brain, with a few major exceptions."

"Such as?"

"Such as the telepathy. They have a section of their brain that humans don't have, and that allows them to have telepathic abilities. If another life form has unhindered telepathy, it may be possible for them to access Spock's brain… but that's all speculation. I'm a doctor, not a Vulcan magician. If I can develop a serum to temporarily paralyze that part of his brain, that should stop them from probing. And then maybe he can help us figure out how in the hell we're going to get out of here."

"I've never seen Spock in that much pain," Jim said quietly.

"He was in a lot of physical pain, but if we ever get out of here it may be a good idea for him to see a healer on Vulcan, so he can deal with any mental anguish he might have."

"Mental anguish? He said he was blocking them out of his mind, why would he have mental anguish?"

Bones put his pen down and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jim, Vulcans are very private people. The contents of one's mind are considered sacred. That's why no respectable Vulcan will ever initiate a meld without the other person's consent. If they do, Vulcan's see it as the equivalent of rape. It's a crime that one can be tried and sentenced for. What those creatures did to Spock is the equivalent of attempted rape. Anyone would need counseling after that."

Kirk sighed and ran a hand over his face. The news just kept getting worse. "I think he'll be OK, but we'll keep the option open for it if he does want to see a healer."

"Get out of here, Jim. Let me work."

"Let me know if you need anything, Bones," Kirk replied, standing to leave him to his work.

"Would you send Christine in here on your way out?"

"Sure."

Nurse Chapel was standing by Spock's bed, adjusting the monitors above him.

"Nurse Chapel, the Doctor needs you," he said as he walked by.

"Yes, Captain," she replied and ran her hair through Spock's hair once more before going into the Doctor's office.

"Yes, Doctor?"

"Nurse, set up a somnovazine drip into Spock's IV. 3ccs every ninety minutes. That should be enough to keep him under until I can figure out what to do. Then grab us some dinner and coffee and come back to the office. I'll need your help with this research. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night."

"Yes, Doctor."

A few hours later, Bones looked up from his work to see Nurse Chapel asleep, her face resting in the book she was reading.

He smiled, stood up to stretch, walked around the desk and took Christine gently by the shoulders. "Christine," he said softly, not wanting to startle her.

"Oh… oh Doctor, I'm sorry! I must have dozed off." she said sleepily.

"It's alright, darlin'. Your body needs to rest. Go on to bed and I'll see you in the morning."

"Yes, Doctor."

He watched as she left his office and went over to Spock. She adjusted his blanket and kissed his forehead gently before leaving the room.

"Those two could drive a man to drink," he grumbled.

He grabbed a hypospray, injected himself with a stimulant, and sat back down to work. He knew he was getting close.


	4. I Am Not Myself

Captain Kirk was still on the bridge, and getting tired. He'd sent the rest of the Alpha shift bridge crew to bed a couple of hours ago, and the Beta shift team was at their stations. The small creatures were still gathered around the ship and scanning it.

"Lieutenant Fuller, report," he said.

"Shields are still at maximum, Captain," she reported. "We are still caught in the tractor beam."

"Understood. I'm going to try and get some sleep. Lieutenant, you have the conn."

"Aye, sir," she replied.

Bones worked all night, running between medical texts, the med replicators and the lab equipment. He gave himself another shot of stimulant, and didn't notice when Nurse Chapel came back to sickbay, an hour early for her shift.

She walked over to Spock, took his hand into hers, and once again ran her hand through his hair. "Don't worry, Mr. Spock," she whispered, "I'll take care of you."

She was suddenly startled by Doctor McCoy, who began shouting in the laboratory, "Ah ha! Got you, you son of a bitch!"

"Doctor?" she said, rushing into the lab.

Doctor McCoy looked up, "Ah, Nurse Chapel, you're early. I didn't hear you come in. I think I've got it! It only took all night!"

"Dr. McCoy, you haven't slept? That's not good for you, you must be exhausted."

"I'm fine, Christine."

"Self medicating again, Doctor?" she asked with a smile.

"Well, the sooner we get Spock back on his feet, the sooner we can get the hell out of here," he said with a shrug. He rushed over to the com system and pressed a few buttons. "Sickbay to Captain Kirk!" There was no reply. "Captain Kirk! Jim! Damn it, Jim, wake the hell up!"

Finally, Kirk's sleepy voice came through the com, "Bones, what is it? Is Spock alright? Do you realize what time it is?"

"Wake up and get down here, Jim. I think I figured out a way to help Spock."

Fifteen minutes later, Kirk walked into sickbay and Bones handed him a coffee. "I was able to develop a neuroparalyzer that will only target the chemicals in his brain that are associated with the telepathy. The problem is that those same chemicals also work on other parts of his brain to a lesser degree. I don't know how it's going to affect him on the whole. We're going to have to restrain him, at least until we know how he reacts."

Kirk nodded, "Understood."

They walked over to Spock and tied his arms and legs to the bed.

"You sure those straps will hold?" Kirk asked.

"They should, but I have sedatives standing by just in case. Nurse Chapel, take away the somnovazine drip and prepare 2ccs of polyadrenaline. I want to bring him back slowly." He administered the neuroparalyzer to Spock. "We'll give that a few minutes before we bring him around." Bones turned around and downed the rest of his coffee, after a few minutes said, "OK, let's get this over with."

He took the hypospray of polyadrenaline and pressed it against Spock's neck. After a minute, Spock's eyes began to flutter open. He looked around, confused and still groggy from the sedative.

"Spock, can you hear me?" Bones asked.

"Dr. McCoy… Captain…" Spock whispered. He closed his eyes again for a moment and then opened them again. "Nurse Chapel… You look beautiful."

Christine flushed red and did not reply.

He closed his eyes again and Bones administered another 3ccs of polyadrenaline. Spock opened his eyes once more, and this time they looked clearer. "I apologize. I am not myself," Spock said.

"Do you remember what happened, Spock?" Jim asked.

"I am beginning to."

Spock looked up at his friends, and seeing their concern, his lip started trembling. A single tear rolled down his cheek.

"Spock? Spock, what's the matter?" Kirk asked.

Spock looked startled for a moment, then quickly schooled his features. "My apologies. I am not myself," he said again.

"It's the neuroparalyzer," Bones replied, "Looks like it's working to suppress your telepathy, but I was unsure of how else it would affect you."

"It appears to be hindering my emotional control," Spock replied, "Nurse Chapel, I have a terrible itch. Will you scratch my nose, please?"

"Oh, of course, Spock," she said, remembering that his hands were tied.

"Spock how do you feel? Do you think it's safe to untie you? You're not feeling aggressive at all, are you?" Bones asked.

"I feel with my hands, Doctor," he said, quirking up an eyebrow. They all stared at him, confused. Spock then began to look embarrassed, a green flush creeping up his cheeks. "That was… my attempt at humor. My apologies. I feel fine, doctor, albeit somewhat out of control of my emotions. But I feel no aggression, although I would recommend not provoking me. It is safe to untie me."

Dr. McCoy looked over at Kirk, who nodded, "Go ahead, Bones."

He and Nurse Chapel untied him and helped him to sit up. "Spock, what can you tell us about the creatures that attacked you?" Kirk asked.

Spock sighed deeply, and looked up at the Captain. "I did not sense that they were intentionally trying to cause me pain. My pain was from me blocking them out. They are powerful telepaths, but they can only communicate that way with other telepathic beings."

"Were they trying to communicate with you?"

"I am uncertain. There is information that I believe that I got from them, but mostly they were searching for information. I knew what they wanted before, but I am having trouble recalling the information."

"You told us before that they were looking for a way to disable the shields without damaging the ship," Jim told him.

"Yes… yes that I am beginning to remember, but there was more. I just cannot recall it …" He frowned and shook his head, "It is most frustrating."

Christine instinctively placed her hand on his, and to her surprise, instead of pulling away, Spock placed his other hand on top of hers. "Your skin is soft," he said, and then, blushing again, pulled his hand away from her and tried to smooth down his hair. He was obviously uncomfortable with his inhibited emotional control. "I must meditate to recall the information. It is vital that I remember if we are to escape. Dr. McCoy, how long will the neuroparalyzer be effective?"

"About six hours. I need you back here in five so I can administer another dose. If your head starts hurting or you feel those little bastards poking around in there again, come down immediately."

"Very well. I will return to my quarters to meditate. Captain, I will let you know as soon as I recall any information."

"OK, Spock," Kirk replied.

"Miss Chapel?" Spock said looking up at her.

"Yes?"

"Could you… make me some of that plomeek soup? I feel quite famished."

"Oh, I'd be very glad to do that, Mr. Spock," she said with a smile.


	5. Plomeek Soup And Risky Plans

Jim walked with Spock to his quarters, then went to the bridge so Spock could meditate without distraction. Spock changed out of his sickbay pajamas, then put on a long, black meditation robe and combed his hair. He heard his door chime. "Enter," he called and Christine walked in, holding a tray of food.

"Here you are, Mr. Spock. Plomeek soup, and bread with favinit butter. The bread and butter will help to fill you up better than just the soup alone," she said, placing the tray down on the table.

"Thank you, Christine," he said, standing in front of her and looking deeply into her eyes. She blushed and looked away from him.

"I should return to sickbay," she said turning away.

Spock gently grabbed her wrist and turned her back around to face him. "Why do you insist to rush out? Your shift in sickbay does not begin for another 28 minutes." He slid his hand from her wrist and placed his palm against hers, lacing their fingers together. It was an odd sensation for him to have physical contact with someone without feeling any of the emotional transference.

Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. "Mr. Spock, you are not yourself. You need to eat and then meditate to recall the information you've forgotten," she reminded him gently.

"Indeed," he lifted her hand and placed a gentle kiss on the back of it, "Thank you for the meal, Christine."

He let go of her hand and turned away from her to eat, and she rushed out of the room. When the door closed, she sighed and leaned up against the wall, trying to calm herself down. After a few minutes, she composed herself and returned to sickbay to begin her shift.

Spock finished his meal, lit his meditation candle and stared at the flame, trying to recall the information that they needed. He was having a hard time focusing his thoughts. His mind wandered and he found himself thinking about his shipmates and himself. He had a great deal of love, respect and admiration for the humans that he worked with, but because of his Vulcan upbringing, he rarely showed it. "Why?" he asked himself. "Because emotion is dangerous and illogical. Emotionalism nearly wiped out the Vulcan people. It is an insult to show emotion. No, not an insult. Only an insult on Vulcan, but we are not on Vulcan. Even if I were a full Vulcan, I would still have emotion. I am half human. Is it logical for me to suppress all of my emotion on a shipful of humans? Surely showing a little emotion on the ship would not interfere with my ability to see things logically. The ship! The alien creatures! We are captives on an alien vessel. Focus. You are letting your mind wander." He again focused on the situation at hand, and slowly but surely remembered what he believed was all of the information that had escaped him when he was sedated.

He rose out of bed and changed into his uniform, but before he left to report to the Captain, he noticed the corner of a small piece of paper sticking out from underneath his soup bowl. He lifted the bowl and pulled the paper out to see a short, handwritten note from Christine that said: "Glad you're doing better, Mr. Spock! Don't worry, we'll have you feeling like yourself again in no time. Hope you enjoy the soup. Love, Christine."

Spock was momentarily taken aback by the letter. He knew that she loved him, and he'd continuously rejected and dismissed her feelings over the years. He felt great affection for her, but convinced himself that he could not love her the way she wanted or deserved. Now today, with the neuroparalyzer leaving his emotions somewhat out of control, he'd let some of that affection be seen. He saw the look in her eyes when he'd kissed her hand, and knew that she was struggling to control her own emotions. Her professionalism had won out though, and, despite her longing, she dismissed his emotional display as a side effect of the neuroparalyzer. This letter confirmed that she expected everything to go back the way it was when this was all over; her loving him from afar, and him dismissing her feelings. Despite his dismissal, she would always be his friend and care for him when he needed her. He suddenly felt an overwhelming guilt wash over him, and felt hot tears running down his cheeks. A sob escaped him, and he sat back on the bed, buried his face in his hands and cried.

His chime signaled someone outside of his quarters. "Computer, identify visitor," he said in between sobs.

"Visitor is Captain James T. Kirk."

Spock cleared his throat,"Come in!" he called weakly, then stood up to try and compose himself.

As soon as Jim took one look at him, he knew something was very wrong. "Spock, what happened? Are you OK?" he asked, taking his friend by the shoulders. Spock looked his friend in the eye and saw all of Jim's love and concern for him. He'd seen it before, but now, because of the neuroparalyzer, it was affecting him on a much deeper level.

He dissolved into tears once again, this time grabbing onto Jim's shirt and crying onto his shoulder.

"Jim. T'hy'la. My friend and brother. I am sorry. I am so sorry I cannot tell you what you mean to me. All of you. You, Dr. McCoy, Christine…"

Kirk wrapped his arms around him and comforted him as best he could. "I already know, Spock. I already know. You don't have to tell me. Some things don't need words. It's OK, Spock. I got you. I'm here. It's going to be OK," he said rubbing his back. Spock raised his head again to look at Jim. "Do you want me to walk with you down to sickbay?" Jim asked softly.

Spock finally composed himself and let go of his friend, "It is not necessary for me to go to sickbay. I am OK now."

"It is necessary for you to go to sickbay. It's been five hours. You need another dose of the neuroparalyzer."

"Captain, I do not know if I can take much more of this," Spock said honestly.

"Well, consider the alternative," Jim replied.

Spock raised an eyebrow, "Your argument is logical."

Jim smiled, "Come on."

As they walked into sickbay, Bones asked, "Did the meditation help? Did you remember anything else?"

"Indeed. There is much more that I recalled from when they tried to access my thoughts. I did not sense any aggression from them, curiosity and desperation were what I felt from them the most. They seemed almost primitive in some ways, but I also sensed great intelligence. I think part of the desperation came from repairs that are much needed to their ship and they have no means of making those repairs. I believe that they essentially want to use the Enterprise for parts. That's why they are trying to get through the shields without damaging the ship. That also explains all of the small, disassembled ships in the docking bay."

"And they communicated this to you?" Jim asked as Dr. McCoy gave Spock another dose of neuroparalyzer.

"Not expressly. Telepathy in this case is, as you would say, a two-way street. They do have a spoken language but it is not one that I recognize. Telepathic communication, however, does not always require spoken language. While they were in my mind and trying to access my thoughts, I was also able to access their mind, to an extent. It was too difficult to keep my mental shields up and get information from them simultaneously, and since we do not have a common language, I was not able to get as much information as would have liked."

"Anything else, Spock?"

"Yes. I believe that they are the last of their species. There are 802 souls aboard their ship. They are hungry. Food is scarce. Some of the children have succumbed to starvation." He felt tremendous compassion for them and his lip started trembling again, but he pushed his tears down and away. Now was not the time to cry.

"Well, we can't just let them starve to death!" Bones cried, "We have to do something!"

"Yes, but what can we do? We can't risk dropping the shields and opening the ship doors. They want to scrap the Enterprise for parts, remember? Spock can't communicate with them telepathically because of the pain it causes to block them from his thoughts. If they do get into his thoughts, there's no stopping them from getting onto the ship."

"We could stun them if they tried," Bones suggested.

"They're so small, the size of children," Kirk replied, "and we don't know their anatomy. Even a low power stun may kill them. We have to figure out how to communicate with them."

"Captain, I believe that they are more scared of us than we are of them. Desperate beings do desperate things. If we can convince them that we are not a threat and want to help, I may be able to telepathically communicate with them without them feeling obligated to try and rip information from my mind. Then we could convince them to let us leave their ship, and to follow us back into Federation space so they can obtain more adequate assistance."

"How do you suggest we do that, Mr. Spock?" Jim asked.

"To start with, I suggest we feed them. Dr. McCoy is correct. We cannot sit here with our replicators and infinite supply of food while they starve. We can start by preparing a meal for all 802 beings."

"And how do you suggest we get it to them?"

"We must lower the shields to do so. It would not be wise to just beam the food trays out to them. They may not know what it is, and will probably be too anxious to investigate."

"They don't seem too anxious to investigate the ship. There's been a group of them standing around scanning us since yesterday. First they were all around us, but now they are mostly concentrated around the main doors."

"We could lower the shields and open the main doors…" Spock began.

"Spock," the Captain interrupted as if that were not an option.

"Hear me out, Captain. We could lower the shields and open the main doors," he said again, "and have an armed security detail posted, ten men, shoulder to shoulder, two lines deep. They would be too afraid to try and get through 20 armed, alien guards. I will bring the food out myself. If I am going to be the one that they communicate with, they will need to learn to trust me. I will show them the food, come back to the ship, and we will again close the doors and raise the shields. They will no doubt return for more food. I can then give them a food replicator and show them how to operate it. I will return to the ship, and we will once again raise the shields. It is probable that they will return again, seeking supplies for the ship. At that time I will cease taking the neuroparalyzer and try to telepathically communicate with them."

"That sounds like a lot of risk, Spock," Kirk replied. "And Starfleet won't be thrilled about us giving one of their food replicators to an unknown alien race."

"Come on, Jim!" Bones cried stubbornly, "Starfleet provides replicators people everyday. It's not like they don't have enough. And what they don't know won't hurt them."

"True, but I still don't like putting Spock and the rest of the ship and crew at risk. Are you sure they're not aggressive, Spock?"

"Like I said, Captain, I sensed no aggression."

"I still don't like it."

"What other choice have we?"

"None, I guess," Kirk conceded. "Well... we have 802 meals to replicate, gentlemen. I suggest we get to work."

"Commander Spock," Christine spoke up from across the sickbay, and Spock felt his pulse quicken.

"Yes, Miss Chapel?" he asked formally.

"There are large, rolling meal carts in the kitchen supply, each of them can hold a hundred meal trays. We only have five of them but I'm sure Mr. Scott could whip you up a few more. That way we can deliver the food easily and you can spend the least amount of time outside of the ship. And we can get the shields back up as quickly as possible."

Spock quirked up an eyebrow and actually smiled at her, "That is brilliant, Christine. Thank you."

"You're very welcome. Be careful, Mr. Spock," she said, returning his smile before rushing back to her office.


	6. Feeding The Hungry And Finding Spock

A few hours later, The Enterprise crew had prepared 802 meals and loaded them onto the 8 carts, each cart was full and one had an extra two meals sitting on top. Spock made sure that each tray was loaded with bread, cheese, nuts, fruits and vegetables. They also filled a 100 gallon drum that had a small spigot attached at the bottom with fresh water and moved everything to the main doors.

On the bridge, Chekov called, "Scan completed, Captain! Conditions remain the same. Zere is no oxygen awailable outside of the ship but there is grawity. Zat explains their space suits. Mr. Spock will need oxygen but that should be it. Pressure is within acceptable parameters.

"Very good, Mr. Chekov."

The com system by the doors whistled and Kirk called, "Bridge to Commander Spock!"

"Spock here, Captain."

You'll need oxygen out there, but that should be it. Chekov says gravity is functional and pressure is still normal. I've got eyes on our friends outside, they're still scanning by the doors. Use extreme caution, Commander. Get outside, do what you have to, and get back in as quickly as possible."

"Understood, Captain. Spock out."

Spock and everyone stationed at the main doors put on a well fitted rebreather helmet for oxygen, that was completely clear except for a two inch strip down the back of it. Spock wanted to make sure the aliens could see their faces. Lieutenant Commander Giotto called out to the 19 other men they had assembled for the security detail, "Positions, men! Phasers on low stun and they stay down but visible. Do not fire unless it's on my or Mr. Spock's command."

Mr. Scott was also on hand to disable the temporary force field he'd created when they arrived. Once the force field was disabled Scotty pushed a button on the com, "Lieutenant Commander Scott to bridge!"

"You're loud and clear, Scotty, go ahead," Kirk answered.

Everything is in place down here, Captain. We're just waiting on ya to lower the shields and give the word."

Captain Kirk took a deep breath. This was it. "Mr. Chekov… lower the shields."

"Aye, sir. Shields lowered, Captain."

Kirk watched the view screen as the shields fizzled as they turned off, and the aliens jumped back in surprise.

"Shields are down, Scotty. Tell Spock to get to it."

"Aye, sir."

Kirk continued to watch the view screen as the aliens chattered in an unknown language and pointed at their scanners, realizing that the shields had been lowered. Kirk wished that their helmets were transparent so he could see what they looked like. The main doors opened and the aliens became still and absolutely silent, staring at all of the tall beings that were blocking the entrance. Spock stepped forward and held up his hand, offering a ta'al salute, "Live long and prosper." He turned and signaled for the first cart of food, then carefully rolled it down the ramp and towards the aliens. The small creatures backed up more, seemingly alarmed, but did not run. One by one, he pushed all eight carts down, and lined them up to the side so the creatures could still see him. Then he pushed the drum of water down as well. He went over and demonstrated how the food trays pulled out of the cart, and then realizing that they could probably not see the trays sitting on top, he took those two down and handed them to two of the very startled alien creatures. They stood there frozen for a moment, holding the trays. Spock went over to the drum of water and showed them how to turn the spigot. He cupped his hand and filled it with water, holding it out to show them. One of the ones holding a tray finally lifted the cover and saw the food. Another alien waved his scanner over the food for a moment and then cautiously approached Spock, holding out his scanner. Spock did not move while he scanned over the water in his hand. After he finished scanning, he said something to the others. The ones holding the trays took off running with them, and several others appeared out of nowhere. It took three of them to push and steer one cart, but soon all of the food and the drum of water were being whisked away. The alien that scanned everything motioned excitedly for Spock to follow them. Ever curious, he was very tempted but resisted to stick with the plan. He held up his hand and shook his head, signaling that he would not follow. He then turned and walked back onto the ship. He held up his hand in a ta'al, and was surprised when the alien creature took off one of his gloves, revealing very light green skin, and gave him the ta'al back. Spock quirked an eyebrow up curiously, and he gave one last nod to the creature before giving the order to close the door.

Kirk sighed with relief and everyone on the bridge smiled. "That went waaaaay better than I thought it was going to," Jim said to his crew on the bridge.

"Looks like we have a good chance of getting out of here in one piece after all," Sulu said.

"Well, we're not out yet. Mr. Sulu, you have the conn."

"Aye, sir."

Kirk went down to the main doors and approached Spock, "That was very well done, Mr. Spock. I don't think it could've gone any better."

"Indeed. Thank you. Captain, may I be excused to return to my quarters?"

"Are you alright, Spock?"

"Fine Captain, however, my emotions are… getting difficult to control again. I would appreciate a chance to meditate."

"That's fine, Spock. Just call if you need anything."

After he walked away from the Captain, he remembered that it was almost time for another shot. He almost felt that it was unnecessary at this point, but had agreed to continue the treatment until the plan was complete. He did not want to have to be sedated again. He tried with every ounce of strength to control his emotion, but was ready to burst with happiness. Stage one of his plan had gone better than anyone had hoped. The security team didn't even need to raise their weapons, and he felt an immense sense of pride and joy to be able to feed those who were beginning to starve. In the back of his mind he knew that it was only logical to feed them, but it still made him feel immensely happy. All of his guilt and sadness from earlier had been evicted by his seemingly uncontrollable elation. He stopped just outside the doors of sickbay and schooled his features, determined not to show any emotion.

He walked in and both Dr. McCoy and Nurse Chapel smiled at him.

"There's our Vulcan peacemaker!" Bones exclaimed.

"Congratulations on your success of phase one, Spock. I knew you could do it!" Christine said.

Spock couldn't hold in his elation anymore and they watched as his control slipped away and his face broke into a grin. "Did you see?" he asked excitedly, "None of them tried to get on board, we did not even have to raise any weapons! They seemed grateful for the food, it must have been desperately needed, and one of them even saluted me. It was more than a success it was perfect! Perfect!" he cried, and he picked up Christine and spun her around before setting her down gently and quickly giving her a small peck on the cheek. There was joy in her eyes for a long moment, but it disappeared quickly, as if she was remembering that all was going to plan and this would not last.

"I'm happy for you, Spock," she said quietly before turning around to prepare his hypospray.

"Calm down, hobgoblin, and stop assaulting my staff. Your heart rate is too high," Bones said as he waved his scanner over him, and gave him another dose of neuroparalyzer, "I should take a picture of you smiling and hang it in my office."

At the thought of that, Spock immediately frowned.

"Ha! I knew that would get you back to normal. I wouldn't do that to you Spock, and I wouldn't do that to me, either. Now I want you to lie down. I want to give you a thorough brain scan. And I'm not kidding, we need to get your heart rate down."

"Yes, Doctor. Proceed with your beads and rattles," Spock replied with a smirk as he lay down, and Christine couldn't help but snicker.

"Don't encourage him," Bones told her.

"Well, I'm getting some off readings but that is probably just the drug," he said to Spock as he completed the brain scan, "I'm concerned about your heart rate, though. It's too fast. You've been laying down a few minutes now, it should be slowing."

"My heartbeat is naturally fast, Doctor."

"I know that, Spock, but this is fast even for a Vulcan. I don't know what's causing it."

"I am excited, Doctor," Spock said simply. "Phase one of the plan went better than we could have hoped for. I still have an adrenaline rush."

"Well, stop being so excited. I want you to lie still for another few minutes and relax. You know, I never thought I'd say it, but I think I liked you better when you didn't have emotions."

"I have always had emotions, Doctor," Spock said quietly, "I just had a much easier time suppressing them without your medication "

"Yeah, I know, Spock. I'm just teasing you. Your heart rate has gone down a little, but is still too high," Bones said when he checked him again five minutes later. "I'm going to give you a mild muscle relaxer."

"That is not necessary," Spock said, but the Doctor prepared the hypospray anyway.

"Don't worry, this is extremely mild, not like that other stuff. It's just going to bring your heart rate down and will make you feel a little relaxed."

Spock sat up in the bed and held up his hand before he could give him the hypospray, "Wait, please. I feel… Doctor something is... wrong. I cannooooo…" he slumped over and passed out before he could finish his sentence.

"Damn it! What the hell is wrong now?" Bones exclaimed as he grabbed Spock to stop him from falling and laid him back down. He started scanning and cursed again, "Damn it, all of his levels are dropping! I think he's crashing! Nurse, get me 10ccs of polyadrenaline!"

He injected him with the hypospray and waited for Spock to regain consciousness. "I gave him enough stimulant to wake a dead elephant. He should be responding by now…"

Nurse Chapel quickly switched on all of the monitors over the bed and looked at the readings carefully. "Doctor, I've seen these levels in Spock before, when he was shot by that lead projectile and went into a healing trance."

"I should have thought of that! It's the damn neuroparalyzer! His brain thinks it's injured because the drugs are blocking the chemical signals. I guess all we can do is wait and keep an eye on him. Nurse, set up a saline drip and catheter. I don't have anything to neutralize the drug, but we can at least try and flush it through his system as quickly as possible."

"Yes, Doctor."

Back on the bridge, Captain Kirk watched the view screen. None of the aliens had returned to the ship since receiving the food and water. He heard a voice coming through the com, "Sickbay to Captain Kirk!"

"Go ahead, Bones."

"You better get down here, Jim."

"On my way. Sulu, you have the conn."

"What happened?" Jim asked as he walked into sickbay and saw Spock unconscious on the table.

"He went into a damn healing trance. I think neuroparalyzer made his brain think that it was damaged. And I just gave him another dose. All we can do now is wait for the drug to clear out of his system then slap him into consciousness when he's ready."

"Damn. Well, hopefully he'll wake up before the aliens finish eating."

Twelve hours later, the aliens had still not returned, the Enterprise was still caught in the tractor beam inside the alien ship, and Spock was still unconscious. Starting on the seventh hour, they had been slapping him every hour, on the hour and had gotten no response.

"It's been too long. That drug has long since cleared his system. He should be out of it by now." Bones said, running his hands through his hair.

"Doctor, look at this," Christine said. She had been pouring over Dr. M'Benga's books of Vulcan anatomy and healing. "This says that a trance should not last more than 13 hours, he could die."

"Then we're running out of time. Does that say what to do if he isn't waking up?" Kirk asked.

Christine continued reading and her heart sank and dread settled over her, "It says to get him to a Vulcan healer immediately. They need to do a mind meld to pull him back."

"Well that's just typical! We're a million miles from anywhere, trapped in an alien ship with no contact with anyone! Damn it, I won't just let him die!"

"Dr. McCoy, what if I were to put his hands on my face and we could try to initiate a meld that way? I've been reading about this stuff for the last six hours. I even know exactly where the psi points on my face are and how important extreme concentration is."

"I don't know, that sounds risky."

"What other choice do we have? He's our friend, and you know that I… you know how I feel. You have to let me try."

Bones ran a hand through his hair, sighed and looked over at the Captain, "Jim?"

"We've tried everything else. Guess we don't have choice. Are you sure you want to do this, Christine?"

"I'm sure, Captain. I can't just sit here and watch him die."

"Let me give you a stimulant, Christine. That should help you focus," Dr. McCoy said before injecting her with a hypospray.

"Move him over a bit so I can sit on the edge of the the bed," she instructed.

She sat on the bed, and looked up at Kirk and McCoy, "Whatever happens, do not break the meld. It could kill us both. I have to be the one to end it."

"Understood. Proceed Lieutenant," Kirk replied.

She took Spock's hand in hers, kissed his palm and all five fingertips, then placed his hand on her face and moved his fingers to her psi points. Once they were in place, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and willed herself into his mind. She concentrated hard and after a few minutes, felt her psi points getting hot. She felt a slight awareness of him, but it was not enough. She opened her eyes and, still holding his hand to her face, placed her fingers onto his psi points. She closed her eyes again and concentrated, and suddenly felt herself being pulled into his mind. It was dark, and she spent a long time searching for him. Finally, deep in his mind, she saw a light in the distance. She followed the light until it was bright all around her, and finally she saw him, sitting alone, in what looked like the middle of a Vulcan desert. "Spock," she whispered.

He lifted his head and looked around, confused.

"Spock," she said again.

Finally he looked over and saw her. "Christine? How did you find me?"

"I've been looking for you for a long time. We want you to come back to us."

"Why? What would be the purpose? I am half human but cannot acknowledge my humanity. If I were to return to Vulcan, I would still be seen as an outcast. A half breed. I have no place in the universe. You must let me die."

"Oh Spock, no. I can't let you die. You mean too much to me, and Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy. We cherish you and cherish your friendship. And I love you Spock, very much."

"But why? I have done nothing but cause you grief and anguish. Why would you love a being who has no place in the universe? Your love is wasted."

"Spock, I love you because you're you. Your place in the universe right now is with us, on the Enterprise. We would be dead ten times over by now were it not for you. And you have a long, bright future ahead of you. You are intelligent, compassionate, and logical; and though you don't often show your emotion, we know it's there. Actions speak louder than words, Spock. Please… please. Just come home. Even if I was reassigned tomorrow and never saw you again, I would be satisfied just to know that you still exist. The universe is a much better place with you in it."

"Christine, I must tell you something that I may never be able to say again. I do love you. Very much. I just do not know how to show it."

"All you have to do is come back to us, Spock. That's enough for me." In her mind she reached out her hand and he looked at her for a long moment before taking it and letting her pull him to his feet.


	7. Progress

They spent a long time walking back through his mind, hand in hand, until finally she opened her eyes and looked down at him, removing her hand from his face and placing his hand down. Her face was wet with tears. His eyes fluttered open and and he offered a small smile. "Hello, Miss Chapel," he whispered.

"Oh, Spock. Call me Christine."

She leaned over and hugged him, her tears flowing freely. "Thank you, Christine," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her.

Jim and Bones smiled at each other and sighed with relief, but did not interrupt them. Finally she pulled away from him and helped him to sit up.

"Welcome back," Bones said with a grin. "For a few minutes we thought we were going to lose you both."

"How long?" Christine asked, wiping her eyes.

"Almost 2 hours," Kirk answered. "Thank God you're both back with us."

"Shh," Spock said, holding up a hand.

"Spock?" Kirk asked, "Spock, what's wrong? Do you…"

"Shh!" he said again. "They are calling me." He walked over to McCoy's computer. "Computer, bring up the main viewer." The computer screen showed the main viewer, and the small alien creatures were back. They had all eight meal carts with them, full of empty trays, and instead of scanning the ship, they were all standing still and holding up the Vulcan ta'al salute.

"I must go to meet them. They are requesting my presence. Captain, I need a food replicator."

"There's one waiting by the main doors. I still want a security team with you."

"Yes, Captain. Have Lieutenant Commander Giotto assemble with a security team at the main doors in 30 minutes. I must return to my quarters to prepare." He was once again in sickbay pajamas. "Christine, will you accompany me so we may speak?"

She looked at Captain Kirk, who smiled and nodded. "Of course, Mr. Spock," she answered, and then followed him out of sickbay.

"It almost seems like her dream is about to come true," Bones said with a wary look on his face.

"We can only hope," Jim replied.

Christine stood nervously in Spock's quarters, waiting for him to finish changing. When he came out of the bathroom, he was in his uniform, looking impeccable, every hair on his head in place.

He sat down on the edge of his bed, "Please, sit. I assure you that I do not bite."

She smiled and sat down next to him. She was doing the best she could to prepare herself for the conversation at hand. She was sure that he was about to apologize for how he acted under the influence of the neuropatalyzer, then insist that everything had to go back the way that it was. And she was OK with that. Just having him safe and healthy was enough.

"Christine," he said, almost looking nervous, "I must apologize for my actions while I was under the influence of the neuroparalyzer. I acted inexcusably."

"Oh Spock, you don't have to apologize for that. You're brain chemistry was being unnaturally altered. That is certainly excusable."

Spock nodded. "May I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"How were you able to enter my mind to pull me out of the trance? That is something that normally requires a High Vulcan healer. I have never heard of a human that was able to do it."

She shrugged, "I had to do something. You were going to die and I couldn't allow that. I spent more than 6 hours studying Vulcan healing trances. The books said that we needed a Vulcan healer, but we didn't have one. At first, I just placed your fingers on the psi points on my face. That wasn't enough, so at the same time I touched the psi points on your face and concentrated." She laughed, "I don't think I've ever concentrated so hard in my life. Eventually I pictured myself walking through the darkness, searching for you. I finally saw a little bit of light and walked towards it until the light was all around me. That's when I found you."

He reached over and grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. This time he could feel her emotions, and all of the love and affection and warmth that radiated from her soul. "I am grateful that you found me," he said quietly. "What you have done is unprecedented. I would like to collaborate with you and Dr. McCoy to write a science paper to submit to the Federation and the Vulcan High Council. The Elders on Vulcan will, as Dr. McCoy might say, 'flip out' when they read it."

She laughed and placed her other hand on top of his, "I would certainly like to see that."

"Christine," he said seriously, his dark eyes searching hers, "I meant what I said to you before you pulled me back. I do cherish you. Before, I did not think that I was capable of loving you the way that you want or deserve. This experience, however, has certainly opened my eyes to many things, and allowed me to see that I still have much to learn. I am beginning to realize that logic is only the beginning of wisdom, not the end. I would like you to give me an opportunity to redeem myself."

"Redeem yourself? How? And what for? I'm afraid that I don't understand."

"I would like to redeem myself to you. I have not always treated you kindly, and you deserve nothing but kindness."

"Oh Spock, you have never been unkind to me."

Spock raised an eyebrow, "If I remember correctly, two point three years ago I hurled a bowl of plomeek soup in your direction and shouted at you with unnecessary roughness. That was certainly not kind."

"But that wasn't your fault. That was the… well, you know."

Spock raised an eyebrow and nodded, looking slightly exasperated at the memory, "Indeed." The pon farr. The unspeakable. "Please," he said, shaking the memory from his mind, "allow me to redeem myself."

"That is really not necessary, Spock, but if you insist…"

"I do insist."

"What did you have in mind?"

Spock thought for a moment then said, "Once we are off of the alien vessel and back into space, I'd like to prepare a meal for you on the observation deck."

She smiled, "Why Mr. Spock, are you asking me to go on a date with you?"

"Yes. A date. The first of what I can only hope will be many."

"I would be delighted to have dinner with you."

"Thank you," Spock said quietly, brushing his hand over her cheek, "I must go. I must meet with the alien life forms."

"Oh yes, of course," she said, remembering that there was still a mission at hand. "I guess they have given up trying to probe your mind?"

"Yes. In sickbay, I heard them calling to me. I was able to communicate that I would meet with them shortly. The communication has since ceased."

"Be careful. I certainly do not wish to lose you now."

"Nor I, you. I will use caution, but I do not feel that the beings are a threat. I will escort you to your quarters before I go. You are no doubt exhausted. I can relate, as my mind often exhausts me as well."

Before they left his quarters, he sat at his computer and quickly downloaded information onto a PADD. He then offered Christine his arm and escorted her out.

For this meeting with the alien life forms, the Captain was at the main doors. Spock arrived with the PADD, and handed it to the him so he could put on his helmet.

"What's on the PADD, Spock? Jim asked.

"Standard language learning programs, Captain, for all age groups and levels. It will be significantly easier for us and the Federation to aid and communicate with them if we speak a common language."

"Good thinking. The replicator is on the small rolling cart over by Giotto, with a variety of different disks. Lieutenant Uhura thought it would be good for them to have some variety. We don't know what their nutritional needs are yet."

"Logical."

"Spock, if you're able to telepathically communicate with them without your head exploding, let them know that we want to get out of here and that they're welcome to follow us. The Federation can help them immensely, much more than we can."

"I will attempt to communicate that to them, but even telepathic communication without language is complicated. I can convey feelings and basic, universal thoughts and ideas, but little else. We may be forced to rely on the language software and continue to be patient." Spock warned. "And Captain?"

"Yes, Mr. Spock?"

"It is highly unlikely that my cranium will detonate."

Jim just smiled, then him and the security team pulled on their helmets and prepared for the main doors to open.

"Secondary force field is disabled, sir," Scotty said.

Jim walked over to the com, "Captain Kirk to the bridge."

"Sulu here, sir."

"We're ready to lower the shields."

"Aye, sir. Mr. Chekov, lower the shields," Sulu ordered.

"Aye, sir. Lowering shields."

"Shields down, Captain. We are standing by," Sulu reported.

"Thank you Mr. Sulu. Kirk out."

"You may commence opening the main doors, Mr. Scott." Spock ordered.

The doors opened and the alien beings stepped back as a few of the security team came down and started rolling the meal carts back into the ship. When they saw Spock, they once again held their hands up in a ta'al.

Spock returned the greeting, "Live long and prosper." His voice was a bit muffled from the helmet and he spoke loudly to make sure he was heard.

He rolled the food replicator down the ramp and signaled for the aliens to watch, "Come," he said. If they were to learn the Standard language, he might as well start using it. He opened the replicator door to show them that there was nothing inside. He then picked up one of the disks and showed them how to insert it into the replicator. He pressed the button and then opened the door again, taking out a small loaf of bread and handing it to one of them. The aliens started chatting excitedly amongst themselves. Spock held up his hand, and they seemed to understand him as they quickly became silent again. He put another disk in and another, pulling out various food items. Then he put in the disk that produced a cup of water. At that, they became excited again but quieted down quickly. He handed a disc to the alien to try. The small being operated the replicator easily and Spock nodded his head, gesturing with his hand for them to take it. "Take it. Go. Eat. Drink," he told them simply. One of the beings that did not have food in his hands bowed toward him several times then quickly rolled the replicator away, all of the other beings followed him except for one. Spock knelt down, so that he was eye level with the being. "Come," he said, waving him closer. The being stood next to him and watched closely as he pulled out the PADD and turned it on. He showed him how to access the language software, and showed him several words relating to what they were accustomed to. "Bread. Apple. Plomeek. Water. Replicator." He pointed at each picture as he said the word and the alien nodded his understanding. The being then tugged his sleeve, beckoning him to follow. Spock shook his head, "No," he pointed at the PADD then handed it to the alien, "You learn," he pointed in the direction where they were coming from, "Then return," he pointed at the floor in front of him. The alien nodded his understanding then held up his hand and said, "klo!" as if telling him to stay.

"Klo? Stay?" Spock asked, pointing at the floor in front of him.

"Klo!" the alien said again, also pointing at the floor. Then he took off running with the PADD as fast as his little legs would take him.

He returned a few minutes later without the PADD, and holding what looked like a small piece of paper. He handed it to Spock. It was a photograph of what looked like the alien children. They looked remarkably like humans, aside from light green skin, elongated ear lobes and wavy, fiery red hair. There were three children in the picture, sitting at a table, smiling brightly with the Enterprise food trays in front of them. One of the children was missing several baby teeth and looked paler than the others, and another was holding up the ta'al salute. Spock couldn't help but smile at the sweet picture. "Thank you," he said bowing toward him mimicking what he'd seen them do.

The alien bowed back and poked a finger into his own chest, "Kaimek!" he said.

"Kaimek," Spock repeated, pointing at him.

The alien nodded, "Kaimek!" he said again, this time pointing at the picture, indicating that they were his children.

Spock nodded his understanding then pointed at his own chest and said, "Spock."

"Spock," Kaimek repeated.

Spock nodded and then held up a salute, "Live long and prosper, Kaimek."

Kaimek returned the salute, then turned and walked away.

Spock went back into the Enterprise and they closed the main doors. After the air was replenished, they all pulled their helmets off, and Kirk walked over to the com, "Kirk to bridge,"

"Sulu here, sir."

"Raise the shields, Mr. Sulu."

"Aye, sir."

He walked over to Spock, who was studying the picture. "What did he give you?"

"A photograph," Spock replied, handing over the picture.

Jim smiled, "So that's what they look like! They look almost human! Were you able to communicate with them telepathically to let them know that we want to get out of here?"

"Negative, Captain. All telepathic communications had ceased upon my agreement to meet them."

"Damn. Well it looks like we're just going to have to be patient, I guess."

"Jim, would you join me in my quarters for a game of chess?"

"Sure Mr. Spock. I'll meet you down there shortly."

Spock went back to his quarters and changed out of his uniform and into a long, black Vulcan robe. He made tea for himself, pulled out a bottle of bourbon that he kept for Jim, set up his chess board and sat down he found himself thinking about Christine, and that he was actually satisfied that they had been captured by the small alien creatures. If they had not been, he would never had come so far in such a short period of time. He steepled his fingers in front of him and became lost in thought. His door chime startled him before he called, "Enter!" and Jim came walking in.

"Spock," he greeted, taking the seat across from him. After two games of chess, it became clear that Spock was not concentrating. "Spock what's wrong? I rarely ever beat you at chess, and I don't think I've ever won two games in a row. What's on your mind?"

"That is, as you would say, a loaded question."

"We've got time, Spock. It's not like we're going anywhere at the moment."

"Indeed," Spock agreed. He took a deep breath and continued speaking, "For a time, Dr. McCoy's neuroparalyzer left me out of control of my emotions. As you know, being raised on Vulcan has trained me to have rigid control of them, to the point that I rarely even acknowledged that I had them. This situation has forced me to acknowledge and deal with my emotions. It has been… enlightening, to say the least. I will always embrace logic, but I've come to realize that denying my humanity is ultimately detrimental to me and to those I care about. As I told Christine, I now understand that logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end."

"I don't think anyone ever stops growing and learning," Jim replied. "So, do you mind if I ask what's going on, if anything, between you and Miss Chapel?"

"This experience has forced me to acknowledge my feelings for Christine. I have admitted them to myself, and to her."

"And what exactly are your feelings?"

"I cherish her friendship. I cherish… I love her, Jim. It is something that I never thought I would be able to admit to or acknowledge. I always thought that I would not be able love her the way that she wanted or deserved, and therefore it would be illogical to pursue a romantic relationship. I'm… satisfied… that this situation has let me see the error of my way of thinking."

"Does something like romance even exist on Vulcan?" Jim asked.

"Not that I am aware of, as romance is considered illogical. As Dr. McCoy is so fond of pointing out, however, I am half human. It would be, and has been, illogical for me to continuously deny my humanity."

"Well, Spock, I'm glad you're turning this experience into something positive. Bones was worried that you'd suffer mental anguish."

Spock raised an eyebrow, "Mental anguish?"

"Yes, he said something to the effect of them trying to access your mind without permission being the equivalent of attempted rape. Though you may need to see a healer to deal with it."

"No Jim, I do not require a healer. Even if their actions were adulterated with devious intentions, I would simply find it unsettling. They are obviously a peaceful people and were just doing the best that they could with the resources available to them. I assure you, my lack of emotional control is far more traumatizing to me than them trying to access my thoughts."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," Jim replied sincerely. "We both better get some sleep," he said, standing and stretching, "when those aliens come back, I'd really like to try and get out of here." He looked over at the picture of the alien children that Spock had tacked to his note board. "They are awfully cute, but I don't want to live with them forever."

"Nor do I, Jim."

Gosh, it's almost midnight. I'll see you on the bridge in the morning?

"Yes, Captain. Goodnight."


	8. Communication

Four hours later, Spock was startled from his sleep by a voice calling him. He sat up in bed and listened carefully in the dark. "Spock!" he heard again. The voice was in his mind, and it was Kaimek, calling, screaming for him. A feeling of dread and panic settled over him. He dressed in less than a minute, and ran to the bridge, not even bothering to comb his hair. The early morning crew were at their stations and were startled by his sudden presence.

"F-first officer on the bridge!" The Lieutenant announced.

The crew remained anxiously silent as Spock stood and stared at the view screen. After a moment, a small alien came running towards the ship, waving his arms in the air. Spock pushed a button on his console, setting off an alarm in the Captain's quarters that let him know he was needed on the bridge. "Captain Kirk to the bridge!" Spock called through the com.

"I'm on my way," Kirk replied sleepily.

Two minutes later the Captain was on the bridge, looking disheveled but alert. "That doesn't look good," he said as he approached the view screen. Kaimek was jumping up and down, waving his arms and yelling, "Spock! Spock!"

"I must go," Spock said, pulling a phaser, a tricorder and a communicator from under the console and clipping them to his belt.

"Be careful, Mr. Spock. We don't even know if the communicators will work once you're outside of the ship. I'd prefer if you took someone with you."

"I must go alone, Captain," Spock replied as he walked past him and onto the turbolift. He nodded at his Captain as the lift doors closed.

"Lower the shields, Ensign Porter."

"Aye, sir. Lowering shields."

Spock pulled on an oxygen helmet when he got to the ship's main doors.

"Shields are down, Mr. Spock. Watch yourself out there," Kirk said through the communicator.

"Yes, Captain."

Spock pressed a button and the main doors opened. Kaimek grabbed him by the arm, and Jim watched on the view screen as they both ran until they were out of sight.

"Come in, Mr. Spock!" Kirk called through the communicator.

"You are loud and clear, Captain. Stand by." Spock sounded like he was still running.

When they got to a more inner part of the ship, Kaimek pulled off his helmet and Spock pulled out his tricorder as they ran to make sure the air was breathable for him as well. Satisfied with the readings, he clipped it back onto his belt and pulled off his helmet as well, tucking it under his arm. He still hadn't seen Kaimek's face, but noticed as he ran behind him that his hair was streaked with gray. They finally stopped running and Kaimek pushed open a door. Inside was what looked like a sickbay, with somewhat older looking equipment and a small child lying in a bed. Kaimek finally looked up at him with pleading eyes. He looked older, his face lined with wrinkles. "Silmek," he said, pointing at the child. Standing next to the bed were a younger looking male and female clinging to each other and looking desperate. He slowly approached the bed, holding up a ta'al to them. The little girl in the bed was one of the children in the picture that Kaimek gave to him. Spock guessed that Kaimek must be her grandfather, not her father as he had previously thought. Her face was deathly pale and her breathing was labored. He placed a hand on her forehead and felt the heat radiating off of her. He pulled up his communicator, "Spock to Enterprise."

"We read you, Spock, go ahead."

"One of the children is very ill, Captain. I must bring her to sickbay. Please alert Dr. McCoy and open the ship doors."

"Understood, Mr. Spock," Kirk replied. He pulled his oxygen helmet back on while Kaimek briefly said something to the young couple and then pulled on his own helmet. Spock gathered the little girl into his arms and the young couple watched, terrified, as he and Kaimek ran through the halls of the ship, stopping briefly to put an oxygen helmet on her before rushing out into the bay and back onto the Enterprise. Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy and nurse Chapel we're waiting with an anti gravity stretcher and oxygen helmets on just inside the main doors. He laid the child on the stretcher and Kaimek followed as they rushed her into sickbay.

"Nurse, prepare the bioscanner. Jesus, I don't even know her anatomy." He looked over and saw Kaimek, who was looking at the child. Despite his obvious concern, he looked healthy and strong as far as Bones could tell. "Spock, what's his name?" he asked, nodding towards Kaimek as he undressed the little girl and put her in a much too large hospital gown.

"His name is Kaimek, and I believe the little one is Silmek," Spock replied.

Bones rolled her under the bioscanner and then called, "Kaimek!"

Kaimek walked over to him and Bones started waving his scanner over him. Kaimek seemed to understand what he was doing, and stayed perfectly still until he finished scanning. "At least this will give me some idea as to what her readings should be. I hope." He nodded his thanks to Kaimek and then returned to the bioscanner where the child was lying. "Nurse Chapel, set up a drip, she looks dehydrated." The little one opened her eyes, and stared up at Dr. McCoy, terrified. Bones smiled at her and gently brushed her hair out of her face, "Hey there, Silmek. I'm Dr. McCoy. Now don't you worry, darlin', we'll have you feeling better in no time." He knew that she didn't understand him, but he figured a little reassurance would be good for all of them. He looked up at the image that Nurse Chapel had brought up from the bioscanner and put on the view screen. He identified her lungs, "It looks like pneumonia," he said, pulling out a different, larger handheld scanner and waving it over. "There's the little bugger! It is pneumonia. Not one of the strains that we're used to, but close enough. I should be able to treat it."

"Nurse, get me 5ccs of respirax, 3ccs of pneumovir, 1cc of acetamorphone, and a triox," Bones ordered. She obeyed without question, and he gave the little one all of the hyposprays and watched her readings carefully. He sighed with relief as she started coughing violently, and moved a pan to her side that she could spit into. He helped her to sit up and gently rubbed and patted her back. "This just means that the respirax is working," he said as Kirk, Spock and Kaimek watched with concern.

"It's OK," Kirk said quietly, placing a hand on Kaimek's shoulder.

After a few minutes, Silmek stopped coughing. Dr. McCoy helped her to lay down and he pulled the bioscanner back over her. When the image appeared on the view screen he smiled, "Her lungs are clearing. He waved a hand scanner over her. Her temperature was going down and color was returning The virus was dying. "You're going to be just fine, sweetheart," he said to her, smoothing her hair and offering a smile. This time, she gave a small smile back to him. "Come on over," he said, waving Kaimek over to the bed. He pulled out a small step stool for him to stand on.

Kaimek stepped up onto the stool, took the little girl's hand. He spoke to her softly. She answered him after he spoke, and he smiled at her, squeezed her hand and stepped off of the stool. He approached Dr. McCoy with tears in his eyes. He took both of the Doctor's hands in his, and bowed several times.

"You're very welcome," Bones said with a smile, his heart swelling with pride. Moments like this were the reason that he became a doctor. "She should be OK to go home soon. I just want to keep an eye on her."

"Captain, I am going to try to communicate that we would like to leave the ship. Will you excuse us?" Spock asked.

"Of course, Mr. Spock."

"Kaimek," Spock called, "Come." he waved him over and Kaimek looked over at the little girl and then back at Spock nervously.

"It's OK," Bones said smiling at him then looking back at her "I'll take good care of her."

He looked at Spock again, who nodded and then followed him out of sickbay. They walked silently through the halls of the ship until they got to Spock's quarters. Kaimek followed him in and looked thoughtfully around the room and saw the picture of the children on the note board and smiled. Spock thought for a moment about how to communicate their wishes to him. He sat down at his computer and quickly started programming a simulation. A few minutes later he motioned for Kaimek to look at the console. It showed a simple computer animation of what looked like the alien ship. "Watch," he said. The animation showed the doors of the alien ship opening and the Enterprise flying out of it. The big ship followed the Enterprise until they got to earth. "We want to go back. Home," he said, pointing at the computer screen.

Kaimek looked at him thoughtfully, "Home," he repeated.

"Yes, home," Spock said again. "And you come, too," Spock said pointing at him and then back to the computer.

Kaimek nodded as if he understood. Spock nodded back at him. Kaimek looked at the door, indicating that he was ready to return to sickbay. "Come?" he said, repeating what he'd heard Spock say several times.

"Yes," Spock agreed with a nod, and Kaimek followed him out.

When they returned to sickbay, Kaimek breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Silmek sitting up in bed and smiling as Christine played peek-a-boo with her and tickled her gently. Dr. McCoy was once again waving his scanner over her. "Amazing," he said as he finished scanning, "she's recovering at an incredible rate. It would've taken a human child at least a day to get to this point." He placed his hand on her cheek and she smiled up at him. "You should be fit as a fiddle by lunch, darlin'." She couldn't understand him, but knew he was the nice, tall creature that made her feel better.

Kaimek picked up the little one's helmet, indicating that he was ready to go back to his ship. Nurse Chapel kissed her cheek and took the helmet from him to put it on her. Before she could, the little one stood up and jumped into Dr. McCoy's arms, hugging him tightly. Bones startled for a second, then wrapped his arms around her with a smile, "You're welcome, sweetheart," he said, then placed her back on the bed. "Wait one minute," he said, holding up his hand, then walking over to the food replicator. He dug through his disks for a minute before putting one in and pulling out a small lollipop and handing it to her, "For being such a good patient," he said.

She looked at him and the lollipop, confused, until he pulled another one out of the replicator and popped it into his mouth, sucked on it for a second, then removed it. She did the same thing, then grinned, "Gityha!" she said, and Bones nodded as if he understood her perfectly.

"They're my favorite, too. Be good, darlin'."

She took the lollipop out of her mouth and held on to it as Christine put her helmet on. Kaimek picked up Spock's helmet and handed it to him, "Come."

Spock nodded and tucked his helmet under his arm. Before Kaimek picked up his helmet, he looked over at Christine and bowed to her several times. She smiled and bowed back, then he watched as Spock took her hand and kissed her cheek. He smiled at them when he realized that she was Spock's mate. "Dinou!" he said with a smile, and then he turned to Dr. McCoy. He took both of the Doctor's hands in his and bowed, touching his forehead to his knuckles. He stayed that way and started whispering in his language; it almost sounded like he was praying. After a moment he lifted his head and squeezed the Doctor's hands before letting go.

"You're welcome," Bones said with a smile and nod.

"Spock, come?" Kaimek said again.

"Yes, Kaimek," Spock replied. Kaimek picked up his helmet and before he put it on, he faced everyone one last time and held up a ta'al, "Live… lo…" he looked up at Spock for some help.

"Live long and prosper," Spock told him.

"Live long and prosper," Kaimek repeated with a smile, then finally pulled on his helmet.

Spock pulled on his helmet and then once again gathered the little girl into his arms, and she waved at them as they left sickbay.

When they returned to Kaimek's ship, he pulled off his helmet and knelt down so Kaimek could take off Silmek's helmet. They walked back into the sickbay, where the young couple were sitting nervously. They jumped from their seats and Spock immediately handed her to the couple. There was another alien there, who Spock guessed was a physician. He waved a scanner over her for a moment before smiling and saying something to the couple. The female started crying, and hugged the little girl tightly. Silmek smiled and pulled the lollipop out of her mouth to show them. The male ran his hand through the little girl's hair and smiled. Then he turned to Spock and did just what Kaimek had done to Bones, took his hands and placed his forehead against them. Spock could feel his emotions, immense relief and gratitude. When he finally let go, Spock simply bowed at him as he had seen them do. Kaimek started talking to the couple, and then after a few minutes, turned to Spock and said, "Come!"

The young couple bowed at Spock once more, the woman still clinging to the little one, and Spock bowed back before turning and following Kaimek out of the room. He followed him down a long corridor in the ship, they entered a turbolift, went up a few stories, then walked down another long corridor before finally approaching a door. They walked into the room, and there was a single alien, who looked a bit older than Kaimek, sitting at a small desk and going through a program on the PADD that Spock had given them with remarkable speed. Kaimek bowed to him and then started speaking to him, every once in awhile, looking over at Spock and nodding. Spock guessed that he was the Captain of the ship.

After a few minutes of conversation, the alien nodded and Kaimek took a seat.

"Spock," the older alien said, "Come. Sit."

Spock raised an eyebrow curiously and sat. He knew that he didn't teach Kaimek the word 'sit.'

"Spock," the alien said again, "I am Roanek. You give food and water to the people. You cure sick child. We thank you."

"You speak our language well," Spock replied

"Yes. Thanks to your computation machine," he said, looking down at the PADD in front of him. "Silesians are intelligent persons, strong and learn many things fast, very fast. We must… to stay alive. We are last Silesians. You want leave Silesian ship, Kaimek tell me."

"Yes, Roanek," Spock said, speaking slowly and clearly, "We would like you to follow us back to Federation space. We can find a place for your people, make repairs to your ship."

"Find a place for the people?" Roanek asked.

"Yes. We can find a planet for you to settle on."

"Yes. That good. The people are tired of space. I will release ship and we follow Spock."

Spock stood again and bowed, "Thank you, Roanek. I will inform my Captain." He pulled his communicator off of his belt and called, "Commander Spock to Captain Kirk."

"I read you, Commander, go ahead," Kirk answered.

"I am returning to the Enterprise shortly. Prepare to engage maneuvering thrusters and exit the alien craft."

"Alright, Mr. Spock!"

"Roanek," Spock said, turning to him again, "What happened to your people? Where is your planet?"

Roanek sighed, "Far. Very far away. Our… what is word? History? Shames us. We made much war on our planet. Us, on this ship, did not want war. This ship was built for war, but we took it. We could not stay.

"Do you know what happened to the rest of the people on the planet?" Spock asked.

"We went back. We could not land. The planet was poisoned by bombs. Nobody left."

"I grieve with thee," Spock said formally. "Follow us to Federation space. We will find a place for you."

Roanek nodded and Spock bowed again before following Kaimek out.

Kaimek escorted Spock back to the Enterprise, and he held up a ta'al, "Live long and prosper, Spock."

"Peace and long life, Kaimek," Spock replied.

Spock left and immediately went back to the bridge. When he got there, they felt the ship being released from the tractor beam. "How'd you do it, Spock?" Kirk asked.

"They are very intelligent, Captain. They call themselves Silesians. Roanek, who I believe is the Captain of their ship, used the PADD I gave them and learned Standard remarkably fast. Faster than any other species we've ever encountered. He told me that his planet was destroyed by war. They commandeered a war ship and managed to escape. When they tried to return, the planet was uninhabitable. I informed them that if they followed us back to Federation space, we would be able to find a new planet for them. He seemed eager to get his people settled."

On the main view screen, they watched as the big doors on the alien ship started opening. "Well, it seems like Roanek is a man of his word," Kirk replied. "Let's get out of here, Mr. Sulu."

"Aye, sir."


	9. Free At Last

Not long after the Enterprise was out of the alien ship, Uhura spoke up, "Captain, we are being hailed by Starfleet Command."

Jim sat down in his chair and pushed a button, "Starfleet, this is the Enterprise, we read you."

"Jim!" Admiral Richards' relieved voice came over the com, "Are you guys OK? We've been trying to reach you and getting no response. I was just about to send a search party to look for you."

"We're fine, Admiral. We encountered a previously unknown race of humanoids who call themselves Silesians. There are 802 aboard their ship. It's a long story, but the short version is that they captured our ship into their much bigger one, but they were not hostile. It took a while to establish communication, but we were able to learn that they are the last of their species, their home planet was destroyed by war, and they were beginning to starve. We fed them and convinced them to follow us back to Federation space so we can find a place for them to settle."

"How long before you reach Federation space?" Admiral Richards asked.

"Mr. Chekov?" Kirk asked.

"At full impulse we can be at Starbase Nine in sewenteen days, sir."

"Did you hear that, Admiral?"

"Yes, Jim. But why full impulse? Was your warp drive damaged?"

"Because the Silesian ship is following us, sir. We don't know if they have Warp capabilities, and even if they did, we know that their ship is in need of repairs. Their hull might not be able to take it."

"Understood, Captain. Let us know if there's anything you need. In the meantime, we'll see if we can find a suitable planet for them to settle on."

"Thank you, Admiral. Kirk out."

The next day, Spock sought out Christine in sickbay and she smiled when she saw him, "Hello, Mr. Spock."

"Hello, Christine," he replied, "I wanted to see if you'd care to join me for dinner on the observation deck this evening."

"That sounds wonderful, Spock."

"Will it be sufficient if I fetched you from your quarters at 1900 hours?"

"I look forward to seeing you," she replied.

He simply nodded at her then turned to leave, but before he could, Bones called to him "Mr. Spock, a word in my office please."

"What can I do for you, Doctor?" Spock asked as Bones closed his door so they would have privacy.

"How do you feel, Spock?" The Doctor asked as he waved his medical scanner over him.

Spock raised an eyebrow, "I am perfectly healthy, as you should now be aware."

"Uh huh. So what's going on with you and my Head Nurse? For years you've dismissed her feelings for you, and now all of a sudden I give you that neuroparalyzer, you get in touch with your sensitive, human side for a few hours, she pulls you back from the brink of death, and now you're asking her to dinner? She's been on cloud nine since you guys had that little chat in your quarters, and I don't like it, Spock. It's not that I don't trust you, you know I'd trust you with my life, but… She's a good girl, and a damn fine to nurse. I won't have you getting her hopes up that there may be something more between the two of you just to have you break her heart. If this new found interest in her is just a side effect of the drug, I need you to stop this before it goes any further. For her sake and yours. I won't let you hurt her, and I don't want to have to hurt you."

Spock raised an eyebrow at him and held his hands behind his back for a moment before asking, "May I sit, Doctor McCoy?"

"Of course," Bones replied and took a seat at his desk across from him.

"Doctor, I admire your chivalry, and although physical threats against me are both illogical and undignified, I understand your concern."

"Do you?"

"Indeed. It is logical that you would be skeptical about the present situation between Miss Chapel and I. Over the past several years, I have made it known that I do not reciprocate her feelings."

"So then just what in the hell do you think you're doing then, Spock? That gal out there loves you, God only knows why, and you can't just toy with her emotions like that!" Bones was firm but his voice was low and carefully controlled.

"I lied, Doctor."

"Excuse me?" Bones asked incredulously, "Did you just say that you lied? About what? And to whom? I thought Vulcans were incapable of lying."

"Vulcans are very capable of lying, but to lie is illogical so it is not often done. When it is done, it will not be called what it is… A Vulcan will try to justify it by calling it an error, an omission, a detraction, a choice… but they are all essentially the same thing. I lied to myself, to you, Captain Kirk, Christine… I do not often show emotion but I do undoubtedly have emotions."

"Yeah, I know, Spock," Bones replied softly.

"I have had… feelings… for Nurse Chapel for quite some time, but seeing myself as a completely logical Vulcan, I refused to acknowledge them. I shunned my humanity and was ashamed by it. I did think that I was capable of having a meaningful relationship. Your neuroparalyzer did not give me emotions that I do not normally have, it merely brought my emotions to the surface and I was forced to acknowledge and deal with them. It has been a rather enlightening experience."

"Enlightening? Are you saying that you're going to be emotional now?" Bones asked, trying to stay serious but with a hint of a smile on his face.

"Emotional in a human sense? No. I am a Vulcan. Logic will always prevail. That being said, I have realized that it has been counterproductive for me to continuously ignore and suppress my humanity. This situation has led me to realize that logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end. I am no longer ashamed of the emotion that I feel. I will always strive for logic and not to let emotion control my actions, but I will cease ignoring that I have them. I do not intend to, as you say "toy" with Miss Chapel's emotions. I do feel strongly for her and I am now simply allowing myself to acknowledge it."

"Honestly, Mr. Spock, I never thought I'd see the day." Bones said with a teasing smile.

"Nor did I, Doctor. And while we are on the subject of emotion, I wish to tell you…"

"Yes?"

"Thank you, Doctor McCoy."

"For what?"

"For being a good friend. You are over emotional, boisterous, obnoxious at times… but I find that I've come to appreciate you as you are, despite your emotional excess. And I do cherish your friendship."

Bones looked shocked for a moment before letting a grin creep across his face. "Why, Mr. Spock, I don't know what to say. I may be over emotional and obnoxious, but I love you too, hobgoblin. So, what are your plans with Christine for tonight?"

"I plan to share a meal with her on the observation deck," Spock replied simply.

"I know that, Spock. But you're trying to establish a romantic relationship with her, right? Do you plan on giving her flowers or chocolate?"

"For what purpose?" Spock asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Angels and ministers of grace, defend us. Spock, you are islands of brilliance amidst oceans of ignorance. This will be your first date. You can't show up empty handed. Human women like romance. They like to be courted. Make her feel special. Beautiful flowers for a beautiful lady."

"Indeed… "

Bones sighed. "Dress nice, bring a bottle of wine and meet me in the horticulture bay at 1830 hours."

"You propose that I drink wine with you in the horticulture bay in dress clothes before my dinner? Forgive me, Doctor, but it is my intention to court Christine, not you."

"Damn it, Spock, I know that! The wine and the dress clothes aren't for me, they're for your dinner with her! You're going to meet me in the horticulture bay so I can help you pick out a bouquet of flowers for her."

"I understand. Forgive me, Doctor. I appreciate your assistance. I must admit that I am… somewhat unfamiliar with earth courting customs. I will meet you in the horticulture bay in my dress uniform at 1830 hours."

"Not your dress uniform, Spock. You'll be off duty. Don't you have any dress slacks or button up shirts?"

"I do not."

"That's OK. I'll meet you at your quarters at 1800 with an outfit. Then we'll go to the horticulture bay."

"I appreciate your assistance, Doctor," Spock said again as he rose from his seat, "I must return to my quarters to meditate."

"Don't mention it, Spock. But you should definitely take some time to research Earth dating customs."

"Indeed. Thank you," Spock replied, then let himself out of the office. He nodded to Christine, "I look forward to our meal this evening."

Christine offered a shy smile and watched him as he left sickbay.


	10. A Date On The Observation Deck

A few hours later, Spock heard his door chime and called, "Come in!"

Bones and Jim walked into his room. Bones was holding a garment bag and Jim held a small bottle in his hand.

Spock had just gotten out of the shower and was in only a pair of shorts with a towel around his shoulders. Bones laid the garment bag down on the bed, pulled out an outfit and handed it to Spock, "Here, put this on."

Spock held it out in front of him and looked it over. It was black dress pants and a dark, sea green button down silk shirt. "I take it these clothes were not replicated for the occasion?" he asked.

"Nope. That outfit belonged to my father. It's a bit big for me but should fit you perfectly."

Spock nodded appreciatively, "I will have it cleaned and return it promptly."

"Don't bother. Keep it, Spock. It doesn't fit me so I never wear it. Not much my style anyway."

"Thank you, Doctor."

Spock turned to go back into the washroom to change, but before he could, Jim stopped him, "Hold on a second, Spock." He opened the small bottle that he was holding a splashed a small amount of liquid onto his hands.

Spock immediately smelled a musky, but light and masculine scent. "Cologne?" he asked raising an eyebrow and taking the towel off of his shoulders.

"Yes, Spock, cologne," Jim replied as he rubbed his hands together and started patting him on the neck, shoulders and chest. "This was a gift from a lovely young woman I met on Risa a few years back. It smells fantastic and the ladies love it."

"It is quite pleasing to the olfactory senses," Spock agreed. He changed quickly, pulled on socks and shoes, and came out of the washroom buttoning his shirt.

He buttoned it up to the neck and Jim stepped up to him, "Let me fix that for you, Spock." He unbuttoned the top two buttons.

"Jim?"

"You're not wearing a tie," Jim answered, "It looks much better this way."

"Indeed?" Spock asked, once again quirking up an eyebrow. He looked at himself in the mirror as he tucked in his shirt and put on a belt. He smoothed his hair down, then turned to face his friends. "This is quite illogical, however… I will, as you would say, 'bear with it,' if it so pleases Miss Chapel."

"You look dashing, Mr. Spock," Jim said with a smile.

"I'll admit that you clean up nice," Bones agreed, "Now grab a bottle of wine. We've got enough time to set up your table on the observation deck then go to horticulture for flowers."

After the table was set, the three of them walked to the horticulture bay, where Sulu was waiting for them.

"Good evening, gentlemen," Sulu greeted, "You look nice, Commander. Big date tonight, huh?" he asked with a smile. Without waiting for an answer he said, "Right this way. We'll help you arrange something nice for your special lady."

After walking around looking at all of the different plants and flowers, Spock was drawn to the collection of Terran lilies. "This one is quite aesthetically pleasing," he said, gently touching the petals. It was a soft red colored petal, outlined in white with a yellow center. "Lilium orientalis," he read off of the identification card.

"Ah, excellent choice, sir," Sulu said with a smile, "and most appropriate for an evening on the observation deck. They call that one the Stargazer Lily. You know what would look really nice with those? A spray of multicolored Keela flowers from the first planet we explored in the Delta quadrant a few months ago. I'll arrange a bouquet for you."

"Thank you, Mr. Sulu," Spock replied, and before long he handed him a beautiful arrangement.

"Lovely," Bones said. "You ready, Spock?"

"I believe that I am sufficiently prepared."

"Did you take my advice from earlier?"

"Indeed, Doctor. I spent an adequate amount of time in my quarters familiarizing myself with Terran courting practices."

Kirk smiled, "I hope the computer didn't give you any bad advice. Good luck, Spock."

Spock resisted the urge to tell him that wishing him luck was illogical and simply nodded his thanks to his friends before turning and heading out of the horticulture bay. He had a few minutes to spare and decided to stop back in his quarters to check himself in the mirror one last time, as illogical as it seemed. When he was finally ready to pick up Christine from her quarters, he walked toward his door only to be stopped by the sound of his personal com signaling an incoming transmission. He sighed, turning back into his room. With all that had been happening, he'd completely forgotten that this was the evening of his mother's weekly calls. Not wanting her to worry as she tended to do, he sat down and accepted the transmission.

"Good evening, mother," he greeted her as her face appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Spock! My, don't you look handsome! I've never seen you dressed like that before! And those beautiful flowers… oh my, I'm interrupting you, aren't I? Who's the lucky lady?"

"I am preparing to have dinner with Nurse Chapel. I apologize, mother. This week has been… eventful… and I must admit that your call had slipped my mind."

"Don't you dare apologize!" Amanda exclaimed with a smile, "Christine is a lovely woman! I'm glad that you finally have enough sense to go on a date with her. Now, don't let me stop you! Go! I love you, Spock. I'll call you at this time tomorrow."

"I look forward to your call, mother. We shall speak tomorrow," he replied.

She blew him a kiss and disconnected the call. Then he finally made his way to Christine's room.

To his relief, he arrived at her quarters at exactly 1900 hours.

"Hello, Christine," he greeted when she opened the door, and he handed her the flowers, "I hope you find these pleasing."

"Oh, Spock, they're beautiful! Thank you! Please, come in, I'll put these in some water before we go to dinner."

As she arranged the flowers in a vase, she looked up and noticed what he was wearing, and she couldn't help but smile at him. "Mr. Spock, I have to tell you… you look fantastic."

"You find this outfit aesthetically pleasing?" he asked, looking almost pleased to hear her say it.

"Very aesthetically pleasing," she agreed.

"You also look… rather lovely," he replied and she smiled shyly.

"Thank you."

He offered his arm and they walked together in comfortable silence up to the observation deck. She gave a small gasp as she walked in and saw the small table set for them and the bottle of wine that was waiting. "Oh, Spock, you didn't have to go through all of this trouble!"

"It was no trouble," Spock said simply, "Please sit." he held out her chair for her and she smiled at him as she sat. He poured both of them wine and said, "I will prepare our meal."

She watched him and sipped her wine as he put on some soft classical music and began putting disks into the replicator. He brought several plates of food over to the table. "The replicator disks that I used were provided to me by my mother, so I could still enjoy her recipes while in space. There is butternut squash casserole, macaroni and cheese and bread with favinit butter."

"Everything looks delicious, Spock! Thank you."

As they ate in the dimmed light of the observation deck, watching the stars, they spoke softly of the events of the last few days.

"You gave us quite a few scares, Spock," Christine said to him.

"I apologize for causing you distress."

"You don't have to apologize. It's not like you had any control over the situation. To be honest, what scared me the most was seeing you openly show so much emotion. Don't get me wrong, I loved it that you were so affectionate… but it was clear that you were not yourself, and that was unsettling."

"It was unsettling," he agreed, "Although I cannot say that I am comfortable with my actions, I am glad that the situation occurred. As I said before, it has only served to increase my wisdom and acceptance of myself for who I am. I am also pleased that you find me acceptable for who I am."

"Of course I do. Do you remember that awful psi 2000 virus we all got?"

"Indeed," Spock said, looking exasperated at the memory.

"I told you that I love you. The human you, the Vulcan you. Regardless of the emotion that you show or don't show."

"You honor me," Spock said quietly, gazing into her eyes across the table. "Would you like to dance?"

"That sounds lovely but… you won't mind? I know about emotional transference with touch, I don't want to… overwhelm you," she said with a shy smile but concern in her eyes.

"Your touch causes me no discomfort," he assured her, "Please," he stood and offered his hand, which she took with a smile and they began to sway to the soft music playing.

She looked up at him as they danced and she felt so much love for him. He felt her emotion and offered her a small smile.

"Thank you for sharing such an emotion with me. It is illogical but it is… nice." He paused, looking deep into her eyes. "Christine?" he said softly.

"Yes, Spock?" Her heart once again felt like it was going to beat out of her chest.

"May I kiss you?" he asked, looking uncertain.

She smiled, and without answering his question, leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He cupped her face in his hands, not initiating a meld, but communicating his emotions to her without words, allowing her to feel what he had such a hard time communicating verbally, all of the love and affection and respect that he had for her.

She was overwhelmed by the depth and intensity of his emotion and broke their kiss with a gasp. He put his forehead against hers, "Forgive me. I did not mean to overwhelm you. I do not often show emotion, but my emotion is still quite strong."

"It's OK," she whispered, "I've been waiting a long time for this. You smell fantastic," she smiled then pulled him in to kiss him again. He pulled his hands off of her face and wrapped his arms around her. He deepened their kiss and soon his hands were tangled in her hair.

After a few minutes he reluctantly broke their kiss, and she began kissing his ears and neck. "Christine, will you join me in my quarters?" He asked, his breath was ragged and his eyes dark and wanting.

She was very tempted by his offer but decided it would be better to wait. This was, after all, only their first date. "I really shouldn't, Spock. I'm tempted… but we should really wait. It's getting late. I should go." She kissed him deeply again before whispering, "Will you walk me to my quarters?"

"Of course. I hope I you will agree to another meal with me soon. I find your company… most agreeable."

"I'd love to have dinner again, Mr. Spock. Next time I'll cook," she said, her arms still around him.

Spock kissed her one last time before walking her to her room. After a last kiss goodnight, he went back to the observation deck, cleaned up and then found himself walking towards the Captain's quarters.

"Come in!" Jim called when he heard his door chime. The Captain and Dr. McCoy were playing cards and drinking Saurian brandy. As Spock walked in both of them grinned at him.

"I see you enjoyed your dinner, Spock," Bones said with a gleam in his eyes.

"How is it that you see this, Doctor?" Spock asked curiously.

Jim and Bones looked at each other and smiled. Jim cleared his throat, "Spock, uh, you have a little…" he gestured toward his neck. Spock looked in the mirror and saw that his lips, neck and ears were stained with her lipstick. His face flushed green and he took a tissue and started wiping it away.

Once he regained his composure and some of his dignity, he sat down with his friends, and to their surprise, accepted a drink.

"Thank you, Jim," Spock said after taking a long sip of the brandy.

"Something to calm your nerves, huh?" Bones asked.

"Indeed. It was… most curious." He finished the brandy in his glass and poured himself another, "She seemed to very much enjoy the limited physical contact that we had. However, when I invited her back to my quarters, she declined."

Bones snorted a laugh, "That's because she's not a harlot, Spock!"

"A… harlot? I am unfamiliar with that term, Doctor."

"She's not a whore, Spock! She's a proper lady, and a proper lady never sleeps with you on the first date."

"I must admit that this situation did not come up in my research. Do you think I offended her with the offer?"

"Well, what do you think, Spock?" Jim asked, "Did she seem offended?"

"She did not. She allowed me to escort her to her quarters and kissed me goodnight."

"Well, I'd call that a success," Jim said with a smirk.

Spock nodded, finished his second shot of brandy and poured himself a third.

"You better slow down with that brandy, hobgoblin. You're going to be seeing double if you keep drinking it like that," Bones warned.

"As you should know, Doctor, Vulcans have a much higher tolerance for alcohol than humans do."

"I know that. I've just never seen you chug it like that before."

"Neither have I," Jim agreed. "Are you trying to get drunk? I should have some chocolate around here somewhere…"

"That is not necessary, Jim. I do not wish to become completely inebriated. I am simply attempting to… regain a modicum of emotional control so my evening meditation will be satisfactory."

"Are you still feeling out of control of your emotions?" Bones asked, looking concerned, "That drug should be long out of your system. Maybe you should come down to sickbay for some tests."

"That will not be necessary. The neuroparalyzer is no longer having any effect on me. It is… Christine seems to be… quite good... at testing my emotional control."

"Yeah, I bet," Jim replied with a smirk.


	11. Red Alert

A week later, Spock and Christine were having dinner with Jim and Bones in the officers mess, when the ship suddenly shook slightly. The alarm sounded and a voice called over the com, "Red alert! Captain Kirk to the bridge!"

"Be careful, Spock," Christine said as he rushed to the bridge with Bones and the Captain.

"Report!" Kirk called to the beta shift team.

"An unknown alien vessel has decloaked bearing five two seven mark three," Lieutenant Fuller said as she quickly vacated the Captain's chair, "They have fired at the Silesian ship."

The rest of the Alpha shift team rushed in to take over their posts. "Uhura, hail the Silesian ship, see if you can patch us through to Roanek." Kirk said as she took a seat at her station. He'd spoken to Roanek a few times over the course of the last week and grown to like and respect him.

"Aye, sir. Channel opened. I'm putting them up on the view screen."

"Roanek!" Kirk said when he saw his face on the viewscreen, "Is that ship attacking you? Do you know who they are?"

"They are Silesians. We thought we were last Silesians. We were wrong. The men in other Silesian warship are a disgrace to our people. They are the ones who make war and destroy our planet. They built this ship to attack their enemies from space. They say we must surrender, so they can take their ship back. We have shields but no weapons. We used weapon parts to repair other parts of the ship. They will get through shields, kill the men and keep our women and children as slaves."

"Not if I can help it," Kirk replied, "Captain Roanek, Mr. Spock and I are beaming over to your ship. That way we can communicate to the other craft."

"Understood, Captain Kirk." Roanek then cut the transmission.

"Spock, what can you tell me about that ship?" Kirk asked.

Spock scanned the ship and replied, "They have shields but they have been damaged. It would not take much to penetrate them. Their ship also has crudely repaired hull damage. They are no match for the Enterprise."

Kirk pushed a button on his com and called, "Scotty, meet us in the transporter room. Mr. Scott will be in command until we get back. Stand by, crew. Hopefully this won't take long," he said offering a smile to them as he and Spock entered the turbolift.

Scotty was waiting for them in the transporter room. "Mr. Scott, you're in command until we get back. Once we're off of the ship, raise the shields and keep them up until I give you further orders." Kirk said as he and Spock got onto the transporter pad."

"Aye, Captain," Scotty replied, "I'll try and get you as close to their bridge as I can."

"Energize!"

Scotty somehow managed to beam them directly onto the Silesian bridge, where Roanek, Kaimek, and a handful of others were all manning different stations.

"Kirk! Spock! We thank you for assistance." Kaimek said.

Kirk and Spock nodded toward him and Jim approached Roanek. "Roanek, can you hail the other ship and then translate what we have to say to them?"

Roanek nodded, "I will translate."

Kaimek pressed a few buttons on the console and soon the face of a Silesian filled the viewscreen. This Silesian, however, did not look calm and peaceful like the ones on this ship did. He looked mean and angry. Kirk and Spock stepped toward the screen, and for a moment, the angry Silesian looked startled by the presence of aliens on the ship.

"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the United Federation of Planets. You have attacked a civilian vessel, unprovoked, that is under our protection. You will cease your attacks and leave this area immediately!" He nodded at Roanek who started translating his words with a hard look on his face.

The alien became even more angry and replied quickly. Roanek translated, "Yelnek says that we stole this ship. It does not belong to us. You aliens have no business in Silesian affairs. You must return to your ship and leave. They will disable our shields and board. They demand that we listen."

"You are in a position to demand nothing," Spock said, stepping forward. "Your shields are weak, your hull is damaged. Our ship is much more powerful than yours, and if you provoke an attack on this ship or ours, we will not hesitate to destroy you. That outcome, however, is not ideal. We would like to resolve this matter peacefully. If you are in need of assistance, you are welcome to follow us back to Federation space." Spock nodded at Roanek, who translated the message.

As Roanek translated, Kirk said quietly to Spock, "You know that we can't fire on them, even if they do attack the Silesian ship. Silesians are not Federation members, the only way we can attack is if they attack the Enterprise directly."

"I am aware, Captain, however, they are not. If we can, as you would say, 'strong arm' them into a peaceful solution, that would be an acceptable outcome."

The angry Silesian flew into a rage, banging his fist on the console and shouting his reply. Then he cut the transmission. Roanek looked at him with disgust and turned back to Kirk and Spock. "They are fools. The shame of our people. They said that they will not take help from aliens and traitors. They would rather die than have wounded pride. They said that we have forty flitek, which I believe is about 20 of your minutes, to lower our shields and prepare to be boarded. We cannot fight, Kirk. What can we do?"

"It'll be a tight squeeze, but we can keep you all on the Enterprise until we get to the Starbase. Roanek, I suggest you prepare to abandon ship. We can transport you to the Enterprise in groups. Get everyone together and prepare for evacuation. Tell them to bring only essential personal items. We have plenty of food, water and clothing for you."

Roanek nodded gravely, then said something to Kaimek. Kaimek nodded then started broadcasting a message to the rest of the ship. "Kirk, all of the people fit in the meeting hall. We can transport from there," Roanek told him.

Kirk flipped open his communicator, "Kirk to Enterprise."

"Scotty here, sir."

"We are abandoning ship, with the Silesians. Keep a lock on my signal, and when I give the order, start beaming them into the cargo bay. And Scotty, if that ship fires on the Enterprise, give it hell back."

"Aye, sir."

"Come," Kaimek said as they prepared to leave. The bridge crew gathered a few things, and then they followed them to the meeting hall.

The meeting hall of their ship was huge and noisy, with all of the families waiting nervously. Roanek climbed the steps of a large podium and held up his hand, calling, "Jailok!"

The crowd became silent and listened as Roanek spoke to them. After a few minutes he nodded at Kirk, who again flipped open his communicator, "Kirk to Enterprise."

"Scotty here, sir."

"We're ready to start beaming over."

"Aye, sir. But it'll take a few minutes to get everyone. We can only take about twenty-five at a time."

"Get to it, Mr. Scott."

All of the Silesians looked nervous as they began to be beamed away in groups. Once there was only about 200 left, the ship was rocked with enemy fire.

"They are breaking through our shields," Roanek said, "we must hurry!"

Just after everyone was safely transported to the Enterprise, the shields had been disabled, the hull damaged, and the ship boarded by the enemy. Through their scans, the enemy Silesians were able to see that the ship had been abandoned. They quickly transported back, and the Captain of the enemy vessel angrily gave the order to destroy the Enterprise then try to salvage the larger ship.

The Enterprise was rocked with phaser fire, and on the bridge Scotty started giving orders, "Arm photon torpedoes!"

"Torpedoes armed and ready, sir!"

"Then fire the bloody things!"

The two torpedoes that were launched destroyed the enemy vessel, and a few minutes later, Kirk and Spock returned to the bridge with Roanek and Kaimek following them. "Good work, Mr. Scott," Kirk said, then he turned to the Silesians. "Well, the threat is gone. Your ship looks like it suffered some heavy damage, but we could still salvage it. We can send a tow ship out to retrieve it."

Roanek shook his head, "That is a ship built for war, used in desperation. It is full of bad memories of hunger and sickness. You should destroy it."

"Roanek, are you sure about that?" Kirk asked.

"I am sure."

Kirk nodded, "Mr. Chekov, arm phasers and photon torpedoes."

"Weapons armed and ready, sir," Chekov replied.

"Fire, Mr. Chekov."

Chekov went to push the buttons, then hesitated and turned to Roanek, "Would you like to do it, sir?" Chekov pointed at the buttons.

Roanek did not hesitate to lean over and press both buttons. They watched as the ship blew apart. Roanek looked at Kaimek and the others and smiled, "That felt good. Thank you Mr. Chekov."

"You're wery welcome, sir."

"Mr. Sulu, increase present speed to warp four. Uhura, inform Starfleet that we now have the Silesians onboard. We should be reaching Starbase Nine in…" Kirk trailed off.

"Forty-eight hours," Chekov finished.

"Aye, sir," Uhura replied.


	12. A New Home

Kirk had the Silesians housed in every spare room they had, and bunked in the rec rooms and even some of the hallways of the ship. Thirty-six hours later, he called all of them into the cargo bay, which was the only place on the ship that could fit all of them. He asked Roanek to translate for him. "Ladies and gentleman, in twelve hours we will be arriving at Starbase Nine. At that time you'll be transferred into Starfleet Shuttles and taken to Cygnus III in the Gamma quadrant. I'm told it's a beautiful, habitable planet, very much like my home planet. It has a twenty six hour day. Starfleet will be bringing supplies and engineers to help you build homes, plant crops and eventually be self sufficient. I'm sure you're eager to be out of space. There are currently no other colonies on Cygnus III, so the world will be yours. Despite the large number of you, I can honestly say you've been the most pleasant guests we've ever had on the Enterprise. I look forward to visiting you on your new planet. Good luck to all of you."

When Roanek finished translating the Silesians bowed and smiled at him and many shook his hand or held up a ta'al before departing back to their area of the ship. Kaimek then approached him, "Captain Kirk, is Spock available that I speak with him?" Many of the Silesians had taken to learning Standard, and like Roanek, they learned incredibly fast. Kaimek included.

"I'll see if he's available, Kaimek." Kirk went over to the wall and pressed a few buttons, "Kirk to Mr. Spock!"

"Spock here, Captain."

"Mr. Kaimek is requesting to speak to you."

"Understood, Captain. He is welcome to my quarters, or I can meet him somewhere else, although my quarters would be most efficient if he is looking for private conversation."

"I'll escort him to your quarters. Kirk out."

Kirk escorted him to Spock's room then left him with a smile. Kaimek pressed the chime on his door and heard him call, "Come in."

"Spock, greetings," Kaimek said as he entered the room.

"Greetings, Kaimek," Spock replied, "Please sit. Would you like some tea?"

"Tea would be good. Thank you."

Spock was dressed in one of his black meditation robes, and poured tea for both of them. "What is on your mind, Kaimek?" Spock asked as he handed him his drink and sat across from him.

Kaimek sipped his tea and looked thoughtful for a moment before replying, "Spock, I must apologize." Spock raised an eyebrow but remained silent and Kaimek continued, "We tried to pull information from your mind. I sensed that we caused you great pain. We were desperate people, but that does not excuse our behavior. That makes us no better than the people we fled from. You are my friend. I regret the pain that we caused you."

Spock thought for a moment before replying, "Kaiidth, Kaimek. It is a word of my people. It means, 'what is, is.' That which we cannot change we must learn to accept. I know that you did not have devious intentions. And, regardless of my pain, the situation has considerably increased my wisdom. It has brought to light things that I would not have realized otherwise. So, there is no apology necessary. I am satisfied that we are able to help you, and grateful that you helped me."

"You honor us, Spock," Kaimek said and Spock couldn't help a small smile at the old Vulcan phrase. "You have done a great service to the Silesian people. We were dying in space. Of hunger, disease, grief… You saved my granddaughter, saved all of us. We caused you pain and you helped us regardless. You are an honorable man. You are… different, from Kirk and the others."

"You honor me, my friend. I am from a planet called Vulcan. My father is a Vulcan ambassador and my mother is human, like Captain Kirk. Vulcans embrace logic. They reject their emotions and let logic alone dictate their thoughts and actions. For most of my life, I have been rigidly Vulcan, rejecting and suppressing all emotions. This situation has helped me to realize that logic is only the beginning of wisdom, not the end. I will always embrace logic, but I am no longer ashamed of the emotion I feel. I have you and your people to thank for that. I am grateful to you, and I am grateful for your friendship."

"And I am grateful for yours." Kaimek smiled, finished his tea and stood. "I will see you before we depart?"

"Yes, my friend. Goodnight."

The next day, the Enterprise docked in Starbase Nine and the Silesians said their goodbyes to the Captain and crew as they exited the ship. Kaimek's granddaughter, Silmek, ran up to Bones. He got down on one knee and scooped her up into a hug. "You be good, darlin'. I'll come visit you soon."

"Goodbye, Doctor. Be good, too. I'll miss you."

Bones smiled, I'll miss you too, sweetheart, and I'll try to be good. Go on, now." He set her down and smiled as she waved and exited the ship with her parents and brothers.

Roanek and Kaimek were the last in the long procession. Roanek looked at all of the officers and smiled, "Most would be nervous about the unknown. We are not nervous. You have treated us so kindly, even when we were not very kind to you. I know you are sending us to a good life."

"It's been a pleasure having you aboard. I hope our duties will allow us to visit you soon. Good luck, gentlemen," Kirk replied.

He shook hands with both men and Roanek turned to Spock, "Thank you for everything, Mr. Spock. We hope to see you again, soon."

Spock nodded graciously as Roanek exited the ship, then turned to Kaimek, who held up a ta'al, "Spock, my friend, may you live long and prosper."

Spock returned his salute, "Peace and long life, Kaimek."

Kaimek held out his hand and Spock shook it, then they all watched as he left.

"Well, I'm glad it was them that captured us in the middle of uncharted space!" Bones exclaimed, "Better them than the Romulans or Klingons!"

You can say that again, Bones," Kirk said with a smile.


	13. Shore Leave

"Captain's Log, Stardate 2270.09. The crew of the Enterprise is due for some much needed shore leave. We have been granted two weeks by Starfleet, and a few of us, namely myself, Mr. Spock, Doctor McCoy and Nurse Chapel, have decided to spend it on Cygnus III, where our friends the Silesians have made their home. It has been just over two years since they left the Enterprise to settle on Cygnus III, and we are anxious to see how they're doing. The rest of the crew will be on a planet better suited for shore leave, Cygnus II, in the same system. While Cygnus II may have finer shore leave recreation and facilities, it does not have our friends on it, and sometimes, that makes all the difference."

"Welcome! Welcome to Cygnus III!" Roanek greeted them when they beamed down to the planet's surface.

"Roanek! It's good to see you again!" Kirk said as they approached him. They noticed that he looked a bit older and was now walking with a cane, but his eyes shone with happiness.

"We are so glad you came to see us!"

"Would you look at this place!" Bones exclaimed, "It's beautiful!" And it was. There was a large, clear freshwater lake, and in the two years they had been there they had planted large fields of grain and vegetables. There were Rigilian cattle grazing in another field, and in yet another area in the distance they saw rows of fruit trees growing. A small town was built and many other houses and barns were scattered in the distance.

"You sent us to a place better than we could have ever dreamed of," Roanek said to them, "Now please, come! I will show you where you will stay, then Kaimek will show you around."

They followed Roanek into the town and he led them into a large house. "We built this in hopes that you will visit us often. No one lives here. It is yours." The house was huge with six bedrooms and four bathrooms. It was comfortably furnished with what looked like handmade furniture and all the technological comforts of modern living. "There are replicators in the kitchen, but I hope that you will dine with my family and friends tonight."

"We would be honored, Roanek, thank you," Kirk replied graciously.

After they chose their bedrooms and set their things down, they heard the door chime. "Ah, that is Kaimek!"

He opened the door and Kaimek stepped in, smiling at them. "Welcome! I am happy to see you, my friends! Come! I will give you a tour of our home!"

They walked around with Kaimek for the next two hours, seeing all of the town and the fields and orchards. Kirk was pleasantly surprised when he saw they had built a dock on the lake, and had small boats and fishing gear. "Just be careful!" Kaimek warned, "Some of the fish are bigger than we are! Not so good to try and eat a fish with spikes and sharp teeth!"

"Those look like bears," Christine said warily pointing to the other side of the lake. There were indeed large, furry creatures on the other side, splashing in the water to catch fish.

"Ah, we call those Rylok, which means 'furry' in our language. Not to worry. They are timid, even with small people like Silesians. They do not come near the town and only eat fish, and leaves and berries of the native Flutek bush. Flutek fruit do not taste good, so it's good that they eat it!" They all smiled and Kaimek continued, "Come! You must be growing tired. We will go back to town so you can wash and rest before our meal."

As they walked back toward the town, they were almost run down by a group of children who were running and playing. One of the little girls recognized them and shrieked with delight, "Doctor!"

Bones grinned, picked her up and spun her around, "Why hello there, Silmek! Gosh, you're getting awfully big! It's good to see you!"

"Are you staying here?" She asked, taking Christine by the hand, "Do you want to play with us? We have many fun games! You and Dr. McCoy can…"

"Hush, little one," Kaimek scolded gently, "They will be here for two weeks, and will be joining us for our meal this evening. I'm sure they will play, just not now. Now run along and be back in time to eat. Do not go past the cattle barn."

She frowned but nodded obediently, "Yes, Rimok Kaimek." She then smiled again and waved before running off with her friends.

"I never dreamed of having so much energy," Kaimek said with a fond smile.

Once they got back to the house, they all thanked Kaimek for the tour.

"It was my honor to show you around, my friends! It is only because of your patience and understanding that we have such a fine home!"

Spock approached him, "Kaimek, will you accompany me back to the orchard so we may speak in private?"

"Of course, my friend."

Christine gave Spock a confused look, but he simply kissed her cheek and said, "I will not be long."

Once they got back to the orchard, Kaimek spoke, "I hope there is nothing troubling you, Spock."

"There is nothing troubling me. I am pleased to see that you are doing so well. I wish to ask for your assistance regarding a… personal matter."

"Of course. Silesians cherish friends as much as family. I will be happy to assist you in any way that I can."

"Kaimek, do you remember what I told you in my quarters, the day before you left the Enterprise?"

"Yes, I remember our conversation."

"Then you remember that I told you that I do not regret our initial encounter?"

"Yes, you said that we helped you to accept your emotion while still embracing logic."

"That is correct. Kaimek… when your people took the Enterprise into your ship, I was finally able to tell Christine the truth about how I feel. The relationship that I've developed with her since then has been… most fulfilling. I have been truly happy for the first time. Since it was you Silesians that allowed me to pursue that relationship, I would be honored if you would assist me in making that relationship permanent. I am going to ask Christine to be my bondmate, my wife."

"Ah, you will make her your Dinou!" I thought that she was already."

"It seemed fitting that since your people helped us to be together, I ask for bonding and marriage while we are on your planet."

"I would be honored to help you, my friend. Is it different things, bonding and marriage?"

"Yes. Christine is human, and I am half human, so I assume, if she agrees, she will want a human wedding ceremony. The human ceremony is mostly traditional earth custom, where vows of faithfulness and rings are exchanged. I also desire that we be bonded in the Vulcan way. Vulcans share a telepathic bond with their spouse, it is a link and constant awareness of the other."

"Ah, I understand, Spock. Silesians and Vulcans are not so different! We also have a mental bond with our chosen ones, but mostly it happens naturally when a mature male and female become close. Then after we have a great feast to celebrate the joining of hearts and minds."

"Fascinating. That does indeed sound very much like a Vulcan telepathic bonding."

"What can I do to help you to propose this to Christine?"

"That is where I am uncertain. I have a ring to present to her, as is the human custom, but there are no such customs on Vulcan. I did research Earth marriage proposal customs, but find that humans are most illogical. They will often propose marriage in very public places. I do not wish to make a public display. I would like to do it in private, but in one of the romantic settings that she is so illogically fond of."

"I think I understand. My wife, she enjoys such things as well. I will help you my friend. Will you meet me again, perhaps right after our meal with Roanek so we may speak about this more?"

"I will meet you after our meal," Spock agreed, "I appreciate your assistance with this, Kaimek."

"It is an honor to help you take the first steps toward your own family. A family is the greatest joy and honor in a man's life. Family must come first before everything else. Family makes us rich in blessing and poor in misfortune, even in hard times. If you remember this then you will always be a rich and happy man."

"Your wisdom honors me, my friend," Spock replied .

That evening, they walked with Kaimek and his family to what looked like a large meeting hall. There was a long table, filled with freshly prepared foods. Roanek greeted them warmly and introduced all of his family and friends. He poured them wine and everyone talked and laughed merrily. They were given plates and everyone served themselves buffet style then sat down to eat. Christine found the company of the Silesian women so pleasant that she didn't notice when Spock left the hall with Kaimek and his wife Choitek. They were gone only fifteen minutes and no one noticed as they slipped back inside to rejoin the merriment. After eating and drinking their fill, everyone was exhausted and happy. Even Spock, who was the only one besides the children not at least buzzed on the wine, was getting sleepy. They thanked Roanek for a wonderful evening, said their goodbyes to everyone there, then walked back to their house.

"Well, that was lovely!" Christine exclaimed after they got back. "They're very different physically, but how like humans they are! Such pleasant company!"

"More pleasant than most," Bones agreed, shooting a look and a lopsided grin at Spock.

"They put out a hell of a spread, too!" Kirk said, rubbing his full stomach and yawning loudly. "I suggest we get some sleep. But first, anyone want to join me for a nightcap?" he asked, pulling a bottle of Saurian brandy out of one of his bags.

"You don't have to ask me twice," Bones said, "How about it, you two? One to sleep on? We _are_ on shore leave, after all."

"Oh no thanks, Len. I had enough wine with dinner! I think I'll pass and go to bed," Christine said.

"I will retire as well. Goodnight," Spock said.

"Goodnight!" Christine called with a smile. They went upstairs and Jim and Bones remained on the couch, drinks in hand.

"You know Jim, I could get used to this place. Always said I'd retire to Georgia, but this is a close number two. Paradise ain't Paradise if you don't have friends to share it with."

"Amen to that," Jim replied as they tapped their glasses together and then downed their shots.


	14. Proposal

A week later, halfway through their vacation, they were once again eating dinner with the Silesians. After dinner, Spock stood and offered his hand to Christine, "Will you join me?"

"Oh, but we haven't had dessert yet!" she exclaimed.

"Dessert has already been arranged for us. Come," he beckoned.

She took his hand and Kaimek and his wife smiled at each other as she followed him out.

Set up on the dock by the lake was a small table with their dessert waiting for them. They sat down and Christine sighed happily as she looked out over the water that was illuminated by the large moons in the sky.

"This is very romantic, Spock," Christine said with a smile as she ate the Silesian custard that Choitek made for the occasion.

"I am pleased that you find the setting satisfactory," Spock replied.

They ate their dessert in comfortable silence, and when they'd finished, Spock pushed their plates aside and took both of Christine's hands across the table.

"Christine, I know that I do not say this as often as you like, but I… I cherish you… I love you. Very much."

Christine smiled and squeezed his hands, "I love you too, Spock. You don't have to say it often. You show me all the time."

"I do not think, however, that you fully grasp the depth of my affection for you… It is… Nearly impossible… To put into adequate words." He paused, and Christine waited patiently as he gathered his thoughts. After a moment, he continued, "When T'Pring invoked the kalifee and severed our bond, I experienced many emotions. Hurt, anger, relief… All simultaneously. I thought that as a Vulcan I never needed to feel love or happiness in a relationship. My emotions were illogical. I pushed away the unpleasant emotion that was brought on by T'Pring, and thought I would just wait until the High counsel found another bondmate that could sustain me in my time. Nothing more and nothing less. Then we were captured by the Silesian vessel, and, for the first time, I allowed myself to explore the love and emotion that I felt for you. I also embraced the the love that I felt from you… and I find myself distraught at the possibility of no longer being able to feel that from you. You have enriched and enlightened my life in ways that I thought were impossible. I cherish thee, Christine. I… love… the feelings that I have for you and that I feel from you. I wish to have them always. Our 5 Year Mission aboard The Enterprise is almost complete. I don't know where the Federation will send me, but of one thing I am absolutely certain: Wherever I am in the galaxy, I wish to have you by my side." He took a ring from his pocket and she smiled as he slipped it over her finger. "Christine, would you do me the honor of becoming my aduna? My bondmate and wife?"

"Oh, Spock," she whispered, "Of course. It would be my honor to be your wife."

Spock released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, stood up and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her deeply then nuzzled her neck, still hugging her close and whispered, "Ashayam, my beloved… I am… happy. I am very happy to have you as my wife."

"I'm happy too, my love," she replied as she kissed him once more then pulled away and said, "Let's go back inside and tell everyone the good news!"

"As you wish, my dear," Spock said with a straight face but with a teasing glint in his eyes.


	15. The Wedding

Six months later, The Enterprise was once again in orbit around Cygnus III. Since Christine didn't have any family on earth, and the Vulcan ceremony would not take place for a few more years when Spock's time was imminent, they decided to have their formal wedding ceremony with their friends the Silesians. The entire crew of the Enterprise would be attending, and Spock's parents, Amanda and Sarek, had also arrived for the occasion.

There were rows of chairs set up by the lake, and the dock was beautifully decorated with an arrangement of flowers from Earth, Vulcan, and Cygnus III.

Kaimek and a Federation minister stood on the dock with Spock. Spock was dressed in a beautiful, white Vulcan ceremonial robe, adorned with precious stones from Vulcan; a gift from Sarek that he had custom made for the occasion.

Uhura began playing the Vulcan Lyre and singing an ancient love song, and all of the guests stood as Christine made her way to the dock in a flowing white gown. Once she was at the dock and standing in front of Spock, Uhura stopped playing and everyone took their seats. Christine smiled at him, and he quirked up an eyebrow and allowed her the small smile meant only for her.

Kaimek began, "Welcome! Welcome, my friends! We are brought together on this beautiful day to celebrate the joining of hearts and minds! Today, S'chn T'gai Spock of Vulcan and Christine Elizabeth Chapel of Earth will become one family. Two hearts, two minds, and two worlds will become one. This is a very happy day, indeed! I am honored that we can share in this joyous occasion! Now, I will read the marriage contract." Spock took Christine's hands in his, and Kaimek continued, "You should always be there for each other when you are needed the most. You should hold each other in your hearts, just as you hold each other in your arms. You should share in each other's dreams, delight in each others joys, and comfort each other in your sorrows. You should be each other's confidant, counsel, friend and lover. When you are not within each other's sight, you should be in each other's thoughts. May the laughter of children grace the halls of your home. May you be poor in misfortune and rich in blessings. May the light of friendship guide your path together. May you see your children's children. May the joy of living for one another bring smiles to your faces. May the universe bless your home and family, and may you know nothing but happiness from this day forward. Spock, do you accept all of this as valid and true in your heart and mind?"

"I do," Spock replied.

Kaimek smiled, "And Christine, do you accept all of this as valid and true in your heart and mind?"

"I do."

Kaimek grinned at them and stepped back, and the Federation Minister stepped forward, "Spock, do you agree to take Christine as your wife? To have and to hold, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health? And, forsaking all others, keep yourself only for her as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Spock said again.

The Minister continued, "Christine, do you agree to take Spock as your husband? To have and to hold for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health? And, forsaking all others, keep yourself only for him as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Christine replied with a smile.

Kaimek stepped forward once again and handed them both wedding bands. The Federation Minister continued, "Spock, place the ring on Christine's finger and say, "With this ring, I thee wed."

Spock looked deep into her eyes as he placed the ring on her finger and repeated the phrase. Christine did the same as she put his ring on, and when it was complete, they held hands again.

Kaimek smiled brightly, "It is completed! You are Dinou, now and forever! Walk in peace and happiness and harmony together for all of your days!"

The Federation Minister then said, "By the power vested in me by the United Federation of Planets, I now pronounce you husband and wife! They shared a brief and chaste but loving kiss, and everyone in attendance clapped and cheered. They threw flower petals at the newlyweds as they made their way off off the dock, then celebrated long into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The marriage contract that Kaimek reads in this chapter was taken from a story by Caillynn Mastyn on fanfiction.net and tweaked to fit this story. It is being used with full permission.


	16. Captain's Log

"Captain's Personal Log, Stardate 2271.04. I think pigs must've started flying today. Spock and Christine Chapel got married today. If you had told me two and a half years ago that Spock and Chapel would end up married to each other, I would've laughed and bet my 75 year old bottle of Saurian brandy that it would never happen. I'm glad i didn't bet that brandy, I wouldn't be enjoying it now if I had! I'm happy for them. They, as odd as it sounds, make a great couple. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was fantastic, good food and drink and good company. I feel like something is wrong, though, and I'm pretty sure it's me. I'm happy for my friends, but I'm feeling selfish. They left for their honeymoon today and won't be back on board The Enterprise for another two weeks. And then, in just 6 more months, our 5 year mission will be complete. God only knows where we'll all end up. Spock and Christine will be assigned together somewhere, but the rest of us are fair game to be sent anywhere in the galaxy. I don't want to lose my friends. I want to see them everyday like I have been. Am I selfish for feeling this way? Absolutely. I guess that I just need to have faith that the universe will unfold as it should. My friends are happy, and that makes me happy. So whatever happens… wherever we end up… I think we'll be OK."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a joy to write. Thanks for reading!


End file.
